


Welcome To My World

by commanderofcandles



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-17 11:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8142307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commanderofcandles/pseuds/commanderofcandles
Summary: Clarke is a high school senior in Boston. She's got a perfect life: perfect boyfriend, perfect friends, perfect grades. Except she doesn't feel that way. Something is missing and she doesn't know what it is. Could this mysterious girl be the change she has waited her whole life for?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!  
> I'm back with a 10-chapter fic.  
> The fic is already written, so I should update daily (and if I don't, I forgot or got too busy, so feel free to yell at me in the comments)  
> Hope you guys like this!

It was midwinter in Boston, Massachusetts, and snow was filling up the otherwise empty streets. Couples, cuddling and trying, unsuccessfully, to warm each other up, could be spotted everywhere. Valentine's Day was in less than two weeks and the typical advertisements for it were starting to pop up in every store.

Clarke hated this time of the year. She hated winter, when the freezing air forced everyone to stay at home where it was warm. She hated all of the snow, which made everyday life a real nightmare. Plus, she couldn't stand the advertisements that were constantly mocking her about February fourteenth. They made her feel like being single was the end of the world. She wasn't single this year, though, so she should've be happy to celebrate it with someone for once. She wasn't, because so far, she had spent every Valentine's Day at home, alone, watching her favorite TV shows and trying to convince herself that it was just like any other day. Except it wasn't. It was the one day of the year that she truly felt the loneliest.

This Sunday, however, her boyfriend had planned a big surprise for her. She had asked many times what it was, but he wouldn't say a word. All she knew was that she needed to dress up. She wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing what the surprise was though, and she wasn't sure why that was.

These were Clarke's thoughts as she drove to school on Wednesday morning. She was nearly eighteen years old, in her senior year at the Boston Arts Academy. She was at the top of her class, had an amazing and hot boyfriend, and best friends who were just as amazing and wonderful. Their group of friends was one of the most popular posses in their entire high school. She had everything any high school senior could ever want, and yet, she felt like she was missing out on something. Something truly important.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it though. That wasn't to say that she hadn't tried. She had often stopped participating in a conversation or paying attention in class just to take time to wonder which part of her life wasn't enough, or rather which part was missing. These wanderings of her mind had earned her the reputation of being absent-minded, even aloof at times.

Her friends could say otherwise though. She was a great person, friendly and warm. She truly cared about people, even people she didn't know. Her wandering mind was just a part of her charm. Bellamy – who had been her best friend since they were five years old – seemed to have fallen for that. Clarke had been very surprised, to say the least, when Bellamy had first asked her out. She had been so stunned that she had been speechless, and he took her silence as a rejection and retreated, his desperate gaze never leaving the floor. Clarke had felt so sorry for him, because she was the kind of person that immediately felt bad when hurting someone, even if it was completely unintentional. That was why she had eventually said yes.

At that time, she was convinced that they wouldn't get together. She didn't want to give false hopes to Bellamy, she just thought that by going out one time with him, he would realize that they were better off as friends. He had insisted that she'd give them a shot.

So she did. And she had found herself surprised once again when she realized that she actually enjoyed the idea of Bellamy and her as more than just best friends. So she went with it, and they'd now been dating for four months.

It wasn't exactly her ideal relationship. She believed in love at first sight, or not at all. That was why she was sure that she wouldn't ever love Bellamy. She had grown to have feelings for him, just not as strong as Bellamy hoped. But after all, they were in high school, and who said anything about needing to have serious relationships in high school? She needed to have fun. She just prayed that having fun with her best friend wasn't the worst idea ever. Except it probably was, and she just hadn't realized it yet.

She finally arrived at the school parking lot, parking in her usual spot and wasting no time before getting out of her car. Clarke found herself immediately smiling when she spotted one of her other best friends, Raven, making her way towards the blonde.

"Hey there, artist girl," Raven exclaimed happily, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Hey, mechanic," Clarke greeted with the same playful tone. She often called Raven ‘mechanic’ because, despite her being in an art school, she spent most of her time working on computers or even cars. "Aren't you a bit late?"

"I could say the same to you."

"Touché. Except that I'm usually never on time. You, on the other hand, are never late."

Raven evaded the question, so Clarke decided to drop it. For now.

Since they were indeed late, they hurried to their classroom. They had first period together: history. Clarke liked that class and was always paying attention. She often imagined how life would be if they were in the past. Or in the future. Like maybe a post-apocalyptic world, where they would have to make sacrifices in order to survive.

She stopped talking to Raven and, as soon as the bell rang and the teacher started talking, began assiduously taking notes.

 

// 

 

The bell rang later in the day, indicating that it was lunch time. Clarke gathered her things and put them in her bag, before leaving her classroom and heading for her locker. She quickly grabbed the stuff she needed for the rest of the day and entered the cafeteria.

The blonde instantly spotted her friends at their usual table. She already saw Raven teasing Octavia and Lincoln for being the goofiest couple ever, and Monty was smirking at Jasper, because he wouldn't stop staring at Octavia.

Clarke had noticed it too, and she and Monty had promised that they would find Jasper a girl just as great as Octavia. It would be hard though, because Octavia was one of the greatest people that Clarke had ever met. Then again, Jasper was a pretty amazing guy too, so he shouldn't have too much trouble finding someone. It would just be easier if he wasn't so focused on Octavia – who was, obviously, already taken.

Clarke seated herself in her usual seat, in front of Octavia, and greeted all of her friends at once. "Hey! What are you guys up to?"

"Just the usual, you know. Raven is worried that we will embarrass her, because Lincoln and I are going on a double date with her and her mysterious new boyfriend."

"Oh, and I don't get to meet him?" Clarke asked, pouting lightly.

"Yes, you do. You and Bellamy are both invited," Raven corrected.

"Yay!" Octavia exclaimed, obviously enjoying the idea. "Let's make it a triple date!"

Octavia then seemed to realize something and pursed her lips. "Oh wait, that means my brother will be here. Ew, awkward…"

Clarke chuckled a little at that and saw the said brother making his way towards them.

"Hi guys." He sat down and leaned in to give his girlfriend a quick peck on the lips. "Hey beautiful." He smiled sweetly at her and looked up at his friends. "What did I miss?"

"We're going on a triple date," Clarke informed him.

"What? With who?"

"Octavia, Lincoln, Clarke, you and I," Raven answered.

"That's a lot of people. But I guess that means we finally get to meet your secret boyfriend, right?"

"Why does everyone keep calling him that?" Raven queried, clearly exasperated.

"Uh, maybe because he's been dating you for a month now and that nobody has met him yet?" Octavia answered sarcastically. "You wouldn't even tell us his name."

Raven didn't respond for once, admitting with her silence that her friends were right. She had been very secretive about her new boyfriend.

She couldn't help it though. It wasn't that she was ashamed, far from it actually. She just didn't want her friends to scare him away. She wanted him to like them just as much as she wanted her friends to like him. It was so important to her – her friends were literally her whole life.

But she knew she couldn't keep hiding him from them any longer, and she didn't want to. That's why she had come up with this idea of a triple date in the first place.

Jasper suddenly seemed to snap out of his daze and questioned, "What about Monty and me? Can't we meet him?"

Octavia butted in quickly. "Sorry, couples only. But don't worry, we'll have a party at my house and you'll get to meet him… Right, Raven?"

Raven nodded that she agreed, and Jasper and Monty seemed to agree as well, so they left it at that.

However, Clarke heard Bellamy mutter, "Of course you wouldn't ask your older brother if it's okay to throw a party," and she smiled, amused.

The conversation began to focus on something else as they finished eating their lunches. When lunch was over, they headed back to their respective classes. Before they knew it, school was over.

 

// 

 

"How was your day?"

"Same as usual. Boring…. Yours?" Clarke asked.

"Uneventful," Bellamy replied, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"That's one way to put it." Clarke returned the smile.

Bellamy was walking her to her car, as a perfect gentleman would do. They usually hung out at Clarke's house after school, but the blonde was feeling a bit tired today, so she hadn't invited him. Bellamy didn't seem to mind, since he had told her he was busy later in the afternoon, with practice and everything, anyway.

They quickly kissed each other goodbye and Clarke started the drive back to her house, knowing that she would be alone there for at least a couple of hours, as per usual. She stopped at a red light, losing herself in her thoughts again.

She prepared to accelerate for when the light was going to turn green again, but when it did, she wasn't ready for what happened. She squealed and brutally stopped the car, because a girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road. The girl seemed completely lost, but she immediately put her hands on the hood, in hopes that it would be enough to stop Clarke's SUV in time. Thankfully, Clarke had reacted fast and stomped on the brake, stopping the car almost immediately. She quickly clambered out of it to check if the girl was injured.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?" Clarke panicked.

The brunette girl popped her head up and stared into Clarke's eyes, with green doe eyes of her own. Clarke took a second to appreciate the girl's beauty. She was truly stunning, a beautiful jaw line, intense gaze and mesmerizing green eyes. Her brown hair glowed magnificently in perfect braids.

_Snap out of it, Clarke! You almost ran over her!_

"I'm okay," the mysterious girl insisted. She then muttered under her breath, almost too faint for Clarke to hear, "or at least I will be… I hope."

Clarke released a relieved sigh and visibly relaxed. She then glanced at the girl's clothes and gulped. She was wearing a bad ass armor set. A freaking armor set. Her hands were full of… what seemed like mud, but black mud. Where did this girl come from?

The mysterious beauty noticed Clarke staring and gulped uncomfortably.

"Sorry I frightened you. I'm just not quite used to…" She paused and gazed at their surroundings. "…all of this."

"Oh my god, no! Don't even apologize! It's totally my fault. I was lost in my thoughts and didn't even check to see whether or not someone was crossing the street. I'm so sorry," Clarke apologized sincerely. There was an awkward silence before Clarke started, "Sorry to be so nosy, especially after I almost ran over you, but… why is i-"

A honk suddenly startled them both and Clarke realized she had left her car in the middle of the street, blocking everyone else behind her. A second later, the light turned red again, giving Clarke some time before getting back to her car.

"I have to go back to my car, but I wanna make it up to you and make sure you're really okay. No offense, but you seem a little… lost."

"I am… sort of. Can I…" The girl was hesitant. "…come with you? To wherever you were going in the first place?"

Clarke was slightly surprised by the suggestion, but accepted right away.

"Yes, of course! I was going home, but we can go wherever you want. We'll clean you up," she offered.

"Your home seems fine. If that's okay with you of course." The girl averted her gaze, looking up at everything around them and not at Clarke.

"Yeah, sure. I offered after all, didn't I? We can go back to my car before the drivers behind it try to murder me."

The girl smiled a small smile and, without realizing it, Clarke was suddenly smiling back at her.

Clarke got into her car and waited for the brunette, realizing that she didn't even ask for her name. Seeing no one after a few seconds, she peered outside her car. She saw the girl standing in front of the passenger door, seeming clueless.

"You can open the door," Clarke said, puzzled. Had she had not seen a car before? Because that was what it looked like.

The girl tried to reach out, but looked desperately at Clarke and asked, "Can you do it?"

Clarke opened her mouth, confused, but did it anyway. She then got back to the driver seat and saw the beautiful brunette get in the car, albeit hesitantly.

Everything about this girl seemed… fragile, almost like she was made of glass. Clarke hadn't ever met anyone quite like her. Something about her made Clarke want to know more.

She finally escaped the red light. During the way back to her house, she broke the silence. "So, what's your name?"

The girl turned to look at her and answered, "Lexa."

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Here is chapter 2, I hope you like it!

Lexa. Clarke liked that name. It was a name that she hadn't ever heard before. It sounded sweet, and yet there was a certain firmness to it. She couldn't explain it but she felt… drawn to it.

"Lexa." It sounded way better out loud than in her head. "No last name?"

Lexa shifted uncomfortably and murmured a weak, "No."

_She doesn't trust me. Can't blame her though… I almost killed her._

Clarke felt chills running down her spine just thinking about it.

"And you?" The soft sound of Lexa's voice made Clarke snap out of her reverie.

"What about me?" Clarke interrogated.

"Well, don't you have a name?" Lexa smirked a little.

Clarke chuckled and said, "I'm Clarke. Clarke Griffin."

She hoped knowing her full name would make Lexa feel more comfortable.

"My house is not too far away. Five more minutes and we'll get you cleaned up," Clarke tried to reassure her.

"Thanks, you didn't have to offer to do that."

"What? After I almost killed you? I think I owe you that much, at the very least."

Clarke glanced at her passenger and realized how uncomfortable the girl was. She was throwing distressed glances everywhere around her. It was almost like she didn't _belong_ here. She seemed… out of place.

"Are you sure you're okay? What happened to your clothes?"

Lexa immediately stiffened and Clarke immediately regretted being so nosy.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't be sorry. It's just that… you wouldn't understand."

Clarke tried not to be affected by the statement. "How do you know?"

"I just do."

Clarke decided to let it go. After all, she didn't know this strange girl. And by the looks of it, it would be hard getting to know more.

"Do not think I'm crazy, but I need to ask… What year are we in?"

Clarke diverted her eyes from the road to look directly into Lexa's eyes, which intensely stared right back at her. "2016. What kind of question is that?"

"Let's just say I'm suffering from… amnesia," Lexa answered, trying to smile but failing miserably.

"Wow." Clarke didn't know what to say. This conversation was getting weirder and weirder by the second. "Do you remember how it happened?"

"I only remember talking to one of my warri- one of my subordinates and the next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of this city, with no idea how it happened."

"Where do you live?" Maybe she could help this girl find her way back to her home. For some reason, she found herself hoping that it wasn't too far away from here. What was so interesting about this girl?

_Oh, I don't know Clarke. Maybe it has something to do with the fact she appeared out of nowhere wearing freaking armor, or maybe because she's suffering from amnesia and is somehow managing to stay calm about everything._

Despite her obvious stiffness, this girl didn't seem all that panicked.

_If I suffered from amnesia, I'd literally be all over the place._

"Are you an actor or something?"

Lexa was puzzled. "A what?"

"An actor," Clarke repeated. "You know, with your unusual outfit I just assumed that you were playing in a movie or something."

Lexa didn't have time to respond, because they arrived at Clarke's house. Her house was not very big, but it was beautiful and really well decorated.

"That's my house. Let me open the car door for you." Clarke assumed that her amnesia had somehow altered Lexa's immediate memory and had maybe fucked with some of the most elementary things as well, such as opening a car door.

Clarke opened it and waited for the other girl to get out before locking the SUV.

"This way." She motioned for Lexa to follow her to the front door, and then opened it and let the brunette in.

"Come in the bathroom, you'll be able to wash your hands and face."

"Thanks." Lexa did as she was told and entered the room Clarke showed her.

She exited the room only a moment later, face and hands cleaned up.

"You feel any better?"

"Yes. Thank you, really. You didn't have to let me come here."

"Again. I almost killed you, so I think that I did." Clarke smiled sweetly at the brunette standing awkwardly in front of her.

"You must think I'm really weird right now."

"Not weird," Clarke denied, "just… confused. And confusing." The brunette smiled at that.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't you ever stop apologizing?" Clarke smirked a little.

"Don't you ever stop asking questions?"

"Touché." Clarke glanced at the time and saw that her father probably wouldn't be back for at least another hour and a half. "Do you want anything to drink? Or eat?"

Only then did she notice that Lexa's pants were ripped. "Do you want some more comfortable clothes? Your pants are ripped."

"That would be nice, yeah."

Clarke guided Lexa up the stairs and went into her room. When the brunette entered, she threw curious glances at her surroundings. She smiled when she saw Clarke's stuffed animals on her bed and the blonde blushed a little, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Lexa then paused to take a look at all of the instruments that were displayed across the room. Clarke had a piano, a trumpet, a guitar and even a viola.

"So, you're a musician, huh?"

"Yeah." Clarke smiled. "You like music?"

"Yes, I actually do. I just don't have many occasions to listen to any."

"That's a shame. People should always make time for things like music."

"I agree." Lexa continued looking at the room and saw lots of photos hanging up everywhere on the walls. The same people were pictured in each, but some of the photos were clearly older than others. "These are your friends?"

"Yeah. Music and my friends are literally everything to me."

"I think I understand why. You seem very close."

"We are. We're like a big family. Just a bit dysfunctional at times, but like every family is."

"I envy you. I never really had any true friends. Except for one, but it ended pretty badly."

Clarke didn't know what was pushing them to confide in each other like that, but she liked it.

The blonde went to the left side of the room, opposite her bed, and said, "That's my dresser. Grab anything you want. I think we're about the same size."

Lexa went and grabbed a flannel shirt with dark jeans, and Clarke left the room to let the brunette change, reentering only when she was finished.

Clarke froze at the door. Without all that mud and armor, Lexa looked so much frailer.

"Thanks again. I will give them back to you as soon as I find new ones and a place to stay."

"You don't have anywhere to stay?"

"I kind of forgot where I live. Remember? Being amnesic and all," Lexa said playfully.

_Wow. She's even able to joke about it. Doesn't anything phase this girl out?_

"Sorry, that was insensitive."

"Don't be. I'm sure it's not every day a girl suddenly pops out in front of your car with no idea where she comes from."

"True." Clarke thought for a minute and then offered, "You can stay here if you want."

She wasn't sure whether or not her parents would agree, but she couldn't possibly leave this girl in the streets on her own.

"Thanks, but I think you've done more than enough for me already," Lexa politely declined.

"Then where will you go?" Clarke questioned, worried.

"I don't know yet, but don't worry about me. I'll figure something out. I always do. I'm pretty resourceful."

"Except for when it comes to staying safe and out of cars' way," Clarke tried to joke.

_Dumbass. You shouldn't joke about this. Remember that you barely managed not to kill her not even an hour ago?_

Lexa laughed anyway and agreed, "I guess you're right. I suppose you don't live here on your own though. Would your parents be okay with me staying here?"

"I think so. And even if they're not, I don't care. I'm not letting you go out there on your own. It could be our little secret."

Clarke didn't know whether or not she imagined it, but she thought she saw Lexa blush a little.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you for all that you're doing."

"By doing laundry, and washing dishes, _and_ doing my homework." Clarke tried to sound as serious as possible.

"Oh so now I'm your personal slave, huh?" Lexa smiled lightly.

"Kind of, yeah. That's what you get for almost scaring me to death." Clarke returned the smile.

Suddenly, her phone went off, startling Lexa. Clarke was surprised that amnesia didn’t seem to bother her, but a phone ringing did. She pushed the thought away and glanced at it and saw Bellamy's name on it. She hit decline, but it went off again a few seconds later. She answered it this time.

"Hey, Bell. What's up? Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"

"Hey, babe. Practice was canceled today. I think the coach had an emergency with his son or something like that. Nothing too serious I think though."

"Aw, too bad. I know how much you enjoy soccer practice."

"Yeah well, coach will be here tomorrow." Bellamy paused before asking. "I have free time now so I was wondering if I could drop by?"

Clarke glanced at Lexa who was staring intently at her. Maybe it wasn't the right time for Bellamy to come here. She just had to make up an excuse, because she didn't want to go into detail of what had just happened. Even Clarke thought it was crazy, so what would Bellamy think?

"Uh, now is not a good time actually. I have tons of homework and I'm not sure when I'll be finished."

"That's okay, we could do it together. I've got plenty of homework too."

Clarke's breathing was becoming heavy. She hated lying to her friends, especially her boyfriend.

"Listen, my dad will be home soon and I think he wanted us to have some father-daughter bonding time or something."

"Oh okay." Bellamy sounded disappointed.

"Sorry."

_Yeah, you should be sorry that you're lying to him._

"It's okay. It's nice of him to come home early."

"Yeah, it is. I have to go now, but I'll text you later tonight, okay?"

"Right. Talk to you later."

Clarke hung up the phone and put it on her desk. She didn't turn around, instead just standing completely still.

Lexa's voice broke the silence. "Who was it?"

Clarke turned around, facing her but averting her gaze from meeting Lexa's. "Um, it was Bellamy. My boyfriend." She took a picture from her desk and showed it to the brunette. "Him."

Lexa looked at it and said, "He's cute."

Clarke blushed a little and put the photo back in its place.

"So, why did you lie to him?"

Clarke didn't face Lexa this time, because her cheeks had turned to a bright red. "I have no idea. I just think it's a pretty unlikely story – how you and I met – and I didn't want to go into details over the phone I guess."

Lexa nodded. "Sure."

The blonde hesitated for a moment, but curiosity got the better of her. "So, what do you remember about your life? If that's okay for me to ask."

"You can ask. That doesn't mean I'll answer."

_How rude can she be?_

"I'm letting a stranger stay at my house and she won't even tell me about her. Unbelievable."

"That makes it more fun, doesn't it?" Lexa smirked.

Clarke rolled her eyes. "I suppose it's what you get for almost running over someone."

This girl obviously liked being mysterious. And making fun of Clarke. She suddenly became uncomfortable again, shifting from one foot to the other. "I might sound even weirder after I ask you this but…"

"But what?" Clarke encouraged her.

Lexa shook her head, abandoning her question. "Nothing. Forget I ever said anything." Clarke decided to drop it for now, because she wanted to make the other girl feel comfortable around her.

"It wasn't a total lie when I said I had homework to do. So I'll just do it now, and you can grab something to eat downstairs. The kitchen is on the left after you pass the front door."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it then."

 

//

 

About an hour later, Clarke had finished doing her homework and she and Lexa were able to just talk for a while. Clarke couldn't help but notice how Lexa avoided every personal topic about her. Maybe she was being paranoid, because after all, Lexa had said that she had amnesia, but Clarke really thought that the girl was trying to hide something – something important about her that she hadn't forgotten about.

They were in the living room when the front door opened and Clarke's father entered the house. He put away his coat and dropped his car keys on the table before going into the living room.

"Hey Clarke. Who's your friend?" he asked.

"Dad, this is Lexa. I met her today after school. You wouldn't believe how."

"Pleasure to meet you, Lexa."

He reached out to shake Lexa's hand, and the brunette got up and shook it. "The pleasure is mine."

"So, how did you two meet?"

 

//

 

Yelling. A lot of yelling. That's what Lexa heard. She was sitting on Clarke's bed while the blonde was downstairs, arguing with her parents.

After Clarke told him the truth about how they met, he had frowned and Lexa had known that wasn't a good sign. The next ten minutes had been really awkward for everyone. Clarke's father, Jake, had asked Lexa a lot of questions that she couldn't answer, and that had made things a lot worse.

Jake had invited Lexa to go upstairs while he talked to Clarke. As much as she didn't want to leave Clarke alone – especially since she was the cause of this mess – the brunette knew she'd better not argue and do as she was told.

Soon, she'd heard someone else come home – probably Clarke's mom – and the yelling had begun.

Lexa felt bad and wanted to go downstairs and just leave so everyone could stop yelling at each other because of her. She would have done it, too, if she had had any clue of where to go. But she didn't know this world or the people that lived in it. She had read many books and had seen pictures and illustrations, but she felt completely lost with all of the technology surrounding her.

The yelling seemed to die down a bit, and Lexa heard Clarke's mom suggest, "She can go to a shelter. I know one where they'll take great care of her and she could search for her family."

"A shelter? She's not homeless mom. She has amnesia," Clarke argued.

"We can't keep her here, Clarke. We don't know anything about her. This all could be a trick to steal from us for all we know," her father said, stepping in.

"She's not a thief or a serial killer. She's just lost. She needs a temporary home, not to be stuck around a bunch of homeless people."

There was a long pause before Lexa heard the blonde's father say, "She can stay here tonight, but after that she'll have to go."

Lexa heard the stairs creak and she quickly got up from Clarke's bed. The blonde entered her room and she looked furious.

"Oh my god, I can't believe them," she seethed.

Lexa tried to calm her down, placing a gentle hand on her forearm. "Come on, Clarke. You can't really blame them. They don't know me, and my story is really shady. Hell,  _you_ don't even know me. I don't want to get you in trouble, I'll just go and figure something out."

Clarke's gaze had been fixed on the hand on her forearm, but when Lexa finished talking she quickly looked up and exclaimed, "No! We already talked about this. You have nowhere to go. Just stay here."

Lexa felt torn apart. She was embarrassed. She knew she should already be gone, she had caused too much trouble. But something made her want to stay. Something in this girl compelled her to stay and made her want to tell her everything. It was crazy though, because the blonde would obviously think that Lexa had gone mad, and she would throw her out. But she couldn't help it. She wanted Clarke to know the absolute truth, as crazy as it was.

Clarke could practically see the gears turning furiously in Lexa's head. She tried to reassure her and pulled her in for a hug. "I meant it when I said that you would stay here even if my parents said no. So please stay," she whispered. "You're not alone in this, Lexa."

Lexa. Clarke definitely liked that name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'd be nice to let me know your thoughts ^^  
> also, you can find me on tumblr @commanderofcandles


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa is cute af and Clarke finally gets to know where this mysterious (gorgeous) girl is coming from aka Clexa being cute af together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back tonight (or today for some of you) with chapter 3 of Welcome To My World  
> hope you all had an amazing day, and if it wasn't the case, hope this makes it even just a tiny bit brighter

_Beep beep beep!_

_Good god, what's that noise?_

It was Tuesday morning and Clarke's alarm clock was ringing loudly. Nothing unusual to most people. Except that Lexa hadn't ever heard an alarm clock before, and didn't even know what it was. That probably explained why she got up so fast, checking everywhere around her for danger, with Clarke's bedside lamp in her right hand, ready to attack her enemy.

Lexa heard Clarke shift in her bed and saw the blonde open her eyes. It took her a second to spot the brunette, and when she did, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Clarke! What are you laughing at? We're under attack!" Lexa exclaimed, clueless as to what Clarke thought was so funny.

The blonde kept laughing for a few seconds, but then she explained, "No Lexa. We're not." She then reached over to turn off her alarm clock and Lexa was surprised that the offending noise stopped. "It's just my alarm clock. See? You're safe." The blonde finished, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Oh. Okay." She put the lamp back on the bedside table with an embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It was kinda cu-… funny."

"You must think I'm paranoid now." The brunette avoided the blonde's stare.

"No, I don't."

The brunette gave her a pointed look.

"Okay. Maybe a little."

They both chuckled for a moment, and then Clarke suggested that they go grab breakfast downstairs.

"I don't know if your parents would be comfortable with me sitting with you guys for breakfast." Lexa didn't want to seem like she was taking advantage of the situation. Clarke had already done more than enough.

"Don't worry, they left for work already. So we're alone," Clarke reassured her. They made their way to the kitchen and Clarke wondered aloud, "What do you want? Pancakes?"

_Doesn't she have that thing called 'school'?_

"Won't you be late for school? It's already seven-thirty."

"I'm not going."

The brunette tilted her head to the side in a curious glance. "Why?"

"I don't want to leave you alone. Plus, we have to find out where you came from."

_Crap._

Of course the blonde wanted to help her find her 'home'. However, they would never find anything. At least, not in this world. How could Lexa explain that to her? It was so messed up.

"I can do that on my own. While you're in school."

"Come on, Lexa, you freaked out because of an alarm clock. I can't leave you out in the wilderness on your own, you'd be terrified."

Lexa chuckled. This girl had no idea what the wilderness that Lexa had lived in was like. And she had no idea that she had just called the Commander of The Twelve Clans a coward. Nobody had ever called her that, actually. Some have said that she's weak maybe, but terrified? Never.

As the Commander, she should be worried about her people. They were likely searching for her everywhere. But they'd never find her, unless she found a way to go back. Unfortunately for them, she wouldn't even try, because it was _she_ that had wanted to escape her own world. She just hadn't thought that she would land in this particular world in the process. The world she had read so many books about, the world she had dreamed about.

_Plus, why leave when this blonde beauty is looking at you with puppy dog eyes?_

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope. No way." Clarke smirked at her.

 

//

 

After almost half a day of running around everywhere in town, Clarke suggested that they grab coffee and something to eat. It was nearing lunch time, anyway.

Lexa had finally agreed that Clarke should come with her in searching for clues of who she was. It turned out to be difficult, since Lexa had no last name nor any idea if she even lived in this state before. Clarke had realized that it would for sure take more than a day to find out where she'd come from.

She'd texted her friends that she was sick and that she wouldn't come to school at all that day. Bellamy offered to come by after school to give her her homework, but she had declined, saying that she would get Octavia to email them to her. Why she kept pushing him away since the previous day, she wasn't sure.

Since Lexa had literally appeared out of nowhere, Clarke felt like she had to be with her all the time. They were getting more and more comfortable with talking to each other. Despite their lack of progress in their mission, Lexa had been a fun and interesting company.

Clarke had come out as bisexual to her friends and family two years ago. Her friends hadn't been surprised and they all supported her. To her parents, it had come as a surprise. Once they took the time to process it, though, they said that it didn't change anything, and that they loved her all the same. Clarke knew she was lucky to have them, even if right now she was angry at her parents for refusing to shelter Lexa.

"Clarke? Are you okay? You're very quiet all of a sudden," Lexa asked, looking to the blonde.

"Yeah I'm okay. I was just lost in my thoughts. Don't be surprised, but I tend to do that a lot. I just zone out and forget everything around me."

They were sitting inside a café, with coffee and snacks on their table. Clarke had ordered for the both of them, because Lexa had been looking at the menu like a lost puppy. It had already happened the previous day with the car door, this morning with the alarm clock incident, and now it was happening again. Curiosity was starting to get the best of her. She had to ask what was on her mind, she couldn't help it.

"Don't be offended but… you often seem like you're discovering the world for the first time. Like you didn't know how to open a car door, and it seemed like you'd never done it before." Lexa immediately stiffened and Clarke regretted her words. "I didn't mean to be blunt. I was just… curious. Sorry if I made you uneasy."

"It's okay. It's just that… I need to tell you something."

Clarke waited for Lexa to continue, but saw she wasn't going to. "You can tell me anything. I won't judge."

"I know." She paused, as if trying to find the right words to say what she wanted to say. "I don't wanna do this here. Can we go back to your house after we finished eating?"

"Of course." Now Clarke was even more intrigued.

The waiter came with their orders and they ate in silence. While it wasn't awkward, the curiosity from Clarke was almost palpable.

The blonde's phone suddenly vibrated, and she grabbed it to see a text from Raven.

**Raven: Update: The triple date will be on Saturday night, so you'll meet Wick after the party. This way, the others won't be jealous ;)**

She answered her right away.

**Clarke: So he does have a name! No problem, I'll be there on Saturday :)**

Clarke then put down her phone on the table and fumbled through her purse to find her wallet. That's when it hit Lexa.

_Of course you forgot about that! They pay for everything here, and you don't have any money. She's gonna think you're just a parasite, if that's not the case already._

That wasn't what Lexa should have worried about though. She should've been worrying about Clarke's reaction once she found out the truth about where Lexa had come from.

"I'm sorry." Clarke perked her head up as the brunette spoke. "I would offer to pay, but I don't have anything. I'm even borrowing your clothes…"

"Don't worry about it. It's on me. It's the least I can do."

"Thank you. Again. I'll figure out a way to repay you."

"You don't have to."

"I insist." Lexa smiled.

They left the café and got back into Clarke's car, and soon they were back at her house. Lexa was starting to get really nervous. Her fingers wouldn't stop fidgeting, and once she was seated on the edge of Clarke's bed, her foot wouldn't stop tapping on the ground.

Clarke sat on her chair next to her desk and looked at Lexa. "So, what did you wanna talk to me about?"

It was a lot harder than Lexa thought it would be, coming up with the words. She had no idea what to say. Should she be blunt and direct, or more careful?

"Okay, I have no idea how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it all at once. You can't interrupt me, even if you start freaking out. Okay?"

Clarke looked intensely at Lexa, wondering what was so off about this girl. "Okay..."

"So here's the thing. When you said earlier that I looked like I hadn't even opened a car door before, it's because I really haven't. In fact, it was the first time I'd ever seen a car."

"What? Are you Amish or something?" Clarke tried to lighten up the mood.

"No interruptions please."

"Right. Sorry."

"I was seeing a car for the first time because… I come from another world."

_Please don't freak out._

"What?"

"Let me finish please," Lexa interrupted quickly. "I sort of landed in this world yesterday, when I appeared in front of your car. I don't have amnesia. I remember everything, but you won't find any information about me in this world." Lexa knew her explanation was blurry, but her whole mind seemed to be foggy right now. Clarke stayed silent, yet her mouth was open. "Clarke? Say something please. Anything."

"I need water."

_What? I tell her I come from another world and all she has to say is 'I need water'?_

"Clarke?"

Clarke got up and almost ran downstairs and into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and poured water in it.

Lexa quickly followed after her. "Clarke, please look at me."

Clarke just kept drinking and once she had finished her drink she poured herself another glass.

"Clarke, look at me! Please!"

"I welcome a stranger into my home, and she turns out to be an escapee from a nut house. Oh my god, I can't believe my parents were right." She gulped the second glass down.

"Clarke, I swear I'm not crazy, just let me explain!" Lexa was desperate. She had no idea what to do. She had anticipated Clarke not believing her at first, and needing to convince her further, but she hadn't expected it to be this hard.

"Water's not gonna do it. I need alcohol." The blonde went to her parents' cabinet, where she knew they kept the liquor. She poured some into her glass and drank all at once. She grimaced as the liquid burned her throat, and then finally glanced at Lexa.

She put her glass down and put both her hands on Lexa's shoulders. "Lexa, listen to me. This is very important. Do you remember where you were before I almost ran over you?"

"Clarke, I already told you. I was in another world. Just please give me the chance to explain before locking me up in a nuthouse," Lexa pleaded.

Clarke couldn't resist those hypnotizing green eyes, so she released Lexa and went into her living room, sitting down on the sofa. Lexa followed and sat on the other end of it, knowing the blonde needed space.

Lexa explained everything she could think of. How, in her world, traveling between worlds wasn't impossible – rare, but not impossible. How she had wanted to escape her life because she felt trapped. She told her that she'd met a kind of shaman. In her world, they were considered outcasts, but they were also supposed to be the only ones to know how to travel between worlds. They had books about life in other worlds. Lexa had read a lot of them, if not all. She had always been fascinated by this particular world, Clarke's world. And now here she was, sitting in the blonde's living room.

Clarke remained frozen on the sofa. She kept staring into Lexa's eyes, trying to gauge whether or not Lexa was telling the truth. Seeing nothing but sincerity in them, she thought that maybe it was indeed the truth. After all, how could someone invent something so messed up?

"I need proof," she finally said.

"What proof?" Lexa questioned.

Clarke thought for a moment before saying. "If you're telling the truth, then take me to your world."

Lexa's face fell. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because if I go back, I'll never be able to leave again, and you'll be stuck there with me."

"So you're saying that I have no other choice but to believe you?"

"It would appear so." Lexa paused. She stared directly into Clarke's blue eyes. "So what do you choose, Clarke?"

Clarke stood up and went to the window. She peeked outside and stood for a minute, hearing the tapping of Lexa's foot on the floor again. The brunette was nervous. Good. Because so was Clarke as she finally gave in and said, "I believe you."

Lexa let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you. I know this must be hard to process, but I swear I'm not crazy."

"I know. That's why I believe you. Or maybe it's because _I_ 'm just crazy."

Lexa chuckled a little and Clarke let a small smile appear on her face.

"That explains the alarm clock incident this morning." This time, it was Clarke's turn to laugh as she remembered the look on Lexa's face when she had thought an intruder was in the room.

"Yeah…" Lexa blushed a bright shade of red.

"You know, your world sounds very… mystical," Clarke pointed out.

"It is, in a way. I can tell you about it if you want."

"I'd love that." Clarke smiled. "And Lexa?"

"Yes?" Lexa returned the smile.

"Welcome to my world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lemme know your thoughts :)  
> see you tomorrow night


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a party happens (featuring a little surprise)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back today with chapter 4!  
> can't believe I forgot to give credit to BrittzandTana for editing this story and a few others!  
> go check out her stories if you haven't already (here or on fanction.net), you won't regret it  
> hope you like this chapter! it's a longer one

When she woke up the next morning, Clarke saw that she had a text from Octavia.

**Octavia: Party at my house. Tonight.**

_That's right. She'd mentioned it the other day when Jasper said he wanted to meet Raven's boyfriend._

The Blake's parties usually involved a lot of alcohol and dancing. Clarke wasn't particularly a party girl, but Octavia and Bellamy's parties were always fun.

_Bellamy. I should probably text him._

Speak of the devil, her phone rang, waking Lexa up as Bellamy's name was displayed on the screen. Lexa grunted and turned around. Clarke smiled at the memory of yesterday morning and the way Lexa had been afraid of the alarm. Lexa, the great commander, had been afraid of a clock. Her people would probably kill to see that.

They had had a long talk last night. Way after Clarke's parents had gone to bed, she and Lexa had been whispering in Clarke's bed about Lexa's world. She referred to it as her previous life, as if she had already moved on from it. She had told the blonde how cruel life could be, but she had also told her about the marvelous things you could find there, such as breathtaking landscapes or gleaming butterflies that looked a lot like fireflies.

Clarke broke from her thoughts and took the call. She greeted Bellamy, "Hey you! What's up?"

"The usual," Bellamy replied in a sleepy voice. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better. Thanks."

"So you'll come to school?"

"Yes, don't worry."

By now, Lexa had fully woken up and was resting on her forearms, looking curiously at Clarke.

"Good. I'll see you on the parking lot?"

"Um… Don't wait for me. I'll probably be late anyway."

She heard Bellamy laugh on the other end of the line. "Can't say I'm surprised. See you at lunch then, babe."

"See you."

Clarke hung up and turned to face the brunette. "Good morning sleepy head. How did you sleep?"

"Way better than last night, now that I've told you the truth." Lexa smiled at her. "Was that your boyfriend? The one from the pictures?"

"Yes. His name is Bellamy."

"Unusual name."

"So is Lexa." Clarke smirked.

"Point taken. So what do you wanna do today?" she asked the blonde.

"I actually have this thing called school, which I can't skip forever you know."

"Right. I forgot. So that means I'll be all by myself all day then?" Lexa pouted.

"You don't need to be. You can go anywhere you want. Explore the city. I'll give you enough money to take the bus and get something to eat."

"Isn't that what mothers do for their children in your world?"

Clarke laughed and Lexa quickly followed in suit, just loving the way the blonde's face illuminated when she laughed, her blue eyes truly glowing.

"Oh, and by the way, I have a party tonight. Do you wanna come? You'll get to meet my friends, and I won't have to make up any more excuses as to why my house is kinda busy right now," the blonde offered.

"I don't know… don't you think I'll be… out of place? I don't really belong here." Lexa frowned.

"You're right." Clarke nodded her head. "A party at the Blake's is probably not the best way for you to be introduced to our world. We'll just stay here tonight."

"No way. Go to your party!"

"Yeah and leave you alone in my house with my parents around? No thanks," Clarke declined.

"I'll be quiet. They won't even know I'm here. Go have fun tonight," Lexa insisted.

"I'm not leaving you alone all day _and_ tonight. I'll stay with you and we can watch a movie."

Lexa's face illuminated. She had only ever heard of those in books. "That would be great, thanks."

"Don't worry about it."

Clarke got out of her bed and got ready for the day, ate breakfast with Lexa, and then headed off to school. Like she had on Wednesday, she ran into Raven in the parking lot.

"Hey Clarke. Feeling better?"

Clarke blushed at the question. She felt bad about lying to her friends, but they couldn't know the truth. None of them. Not even Bellamy.

"Yeah, thanks." Clarke created a distraction, asking the question that had been bugging her since the other day, "I'm curious though. You're as late as me twice in a week. How so?"

"I don't know. Just a coincidence." Raven averted her eyes.

"Yeah, sure." Raven was blushing furiously so Clarke decided to drop it. For now at least.

 

//

 

"Hey, Clarke! How are you?" Octavia asked as Clarke approached their lunch table, where all of her friends were currently seated.

"Fine, don't worry." She sat and smiled at them.

"Great." Octavia turned to talk to everyone, "So everyone's coming tonight, right?"

_Oh shit. The party._

As everyone said yes, Clarke cleared her throat and said, "Um… actually, I can't make it tonight. You know, since we have the triple date on Saturday, my mom told me that I can't go tonight."

"Why? Your mom is usually so chill about that…" Bellamy said disappointed.

"I know. I just think she wants to have a family dinner or something." And yet again, Clarke was lying to all of her best friends. Trying to create another distraction to get the attention off of her, Clarke asked, "Is it just me or is Raven being really weird this week?"

_Sorry that I used you as a distraction twice in one day…_

"You mean, more than usual?" Jasper smirked.

Raven shoved him in the arm. "Shut up." She turned to Clarke. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know she was with her boyfriend last night." Octavia smiled wryly at Raven, who blushed.

"Oh, so _that's_ why she was late this morning! Late morning sex?" Clarke wiggled her eyebrows at her.

Raven blushed even more, if that was even possible at this point. "Okay, I'm not even answering that."

They kept teasing her for a bit, and then made their way to their respective classes once they finished their lunches. On her way to her classroom, Clarke lost herself in her thoughts again.

_I should get Lexa a phone. That way, I'd be able to check up on her. I don't even know if she's okay._

Clarke felt a tight knot in her chest. For some reason, she didn't like being away from the brunette.

_Come on, she's a big girl. She was the commander of twelve clans in a post nuclear apocalyptic world, so I think she can survive being alone for one day._

Clarke didn't have time to continue on her train of thoughts, because just as she entered the classroom, the bell rang.

 

//

 

On the way to her car, Clarke ran into Raven once again. Bellamy wasn't walking her to her car that day, because he had some errands to do for the party.

Raven approached her and pouted. "You're sure you can't make it tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm really sorry Raven I know you wanted us all to meet your boyfriend tonight."

"Yeah… Well you'll meet him tomorrow at least."

"Yes, and this time I promise I'll be there." Clarke smiled at her.

Raven returned the smile and exclaimed, "I'm counting on it! I've gotta go, but I'll call you tomorrow to tell you about the party."

"Okay. Have fun tonight!"

Arriving at her house after the drive back, Clarke received a call from her boyfriend.

"Hey, Bell."

"Clarke, I'm going to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly."

Clarke frowned. Bellamy sounded disappointed, but also a bit angry. She wondered what was going on. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Tell you what, if you're okay?" Clarke let out a nervous chuckle.

"Tell me if you lied to us at lunch, and to me yesterday." Now, Bellamy definitely sounded angry.

"What?" A lump formed in Clarke's throat as her breathing became heavy.

"I ran into your mom at the grocery store. She told me about your fight and a mysterious girl that you almost ran over. And she also told me that she didn't even know about the party tonight!"

Clarke's eyes filled up with water. She was a terrible person for lying, especially for lying to Bellamy. They had always told each other everything.

"If you didn't want to come, you could have just said so!" Bellamy added.

"No, Bellamy it's not that. I wanted to come I swear."

"Then come! And tell me what's going on," Bellamy insisted.

"I can't because you know, that mysterious girl my mom was telling you about, her name's Lexa and she's really nice. But she's also all alone here and I just didn't want her to be alone tonight."

"She can come too. We'll meet her." Bellamy's anger seemed to have died down a little.

"I already offered, but she's not really feeling like it." She heard Bellamy sigh at the other end of the line. "Listen, I'll try to convince her, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever. I don't know what's going on with you these past few days, Clarke, but I don't like it. And I'm not the only one who's noticed."

"Bella-"

Too late. He had hung up on her.

Now fully crying, Clarke sat on her porch, defeated. The lies had finally blown up in her face, and it wasn't pretty. After a minute of self-pity or so, she heard her front door open. She then heard soft footsteps and recognized them as Lexa's.

"Clarke?" Clarke swallowed back a sob and buried her face in her knees. She felt Lexa sit next to her and put a comforting hand on her back, gently tracing circles with her fingers. They stayed silent for a while and Clarke kept crying, before finally trying to calm down. She grabbed Lexa in a tight hug, just wanting to be comforted. Lexa tightened her grip on the blonde and whispered, "It's going to be okay."

"I know," Clarke answered, just as softly.

They pulled apart and Clarke blushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Don't be. I wanna be there for you, under any circumstances."

"Thanks." The blonde smiled and Lexa reciprocated. Clarke tried not to think too much about what Lexa's words implied.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the brunette asked cautiously.

"Bellamy found out that I lied and he was pissed. He wants us to come to the party tonight so he'll get to meet you." Lexa's face fell and Clarke quickly added. "I didn't tell him about you though. He ran into my mom and she told him."

"Since I barged into your life, I've only caused you trouble."

"Don't say that. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have lied."

"You did it to protect me." Lexa's voice seemed filled with regret.

"And I don't regret trying to protect you. I just regret the way that I did."

Clarke's phone went off again and she grunted, "Ugh, what is it this time?" She checked and saw a text from Octavia.

**Octavia: I don't know what's going on between you and my brother, but he seems pissed. I asked him what was wrong but he wouldn't tell me… :( You sure you don't wanna come tonight to make things clear with him?**

What did Octavia mean by making things _clear_ with him? And why was everyone so keen on Clarke going to that party? It was just a freaking party for god's sake! It wasn't the end of the world if she didn't go.

She didn't answer Octavia and turned to see Lexa staring at her.

"We can go to that party if that's such a big deal. Bellamy will feel reassured and I'll get to meet your friends. They'll get off your back that way."

"You sure?" Clarke asked. "I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do."

"You're not forcing me, I offered. Plus, you were right this morning. It's just a party. What could go wrong?"

 _Anything_ , Clarke thought but kept the thought to herself.

 

//

 

After fifteen minutes or so of negotiation, Clarke had finally managed to get Lexa to wear a dress. The brunette didn't feel very comfortable. She'd rather have her old armor set on than this… thing. But she was starting to think that she'd do anything for Clarke.

"You look stunning, Lexa!"

It was true. With her little black dress, Lexa looked gorgeous. It showed off her curves and legs in a perfect way. Clarke realized she was staring and adverted her eyes. She saw Lexa blush as she faced her. "So do you. That blue dress fits you perfectly. It matches your eyes."

Clarke felt herself blush as well and exclaimed, "Now, time to put some make up on!"

At first, Lexa's make up was a catastrophe. Clarke had burst in laughter and Lexa had made the most adorable grumpy face ever.

"In my world, I was supposed to have war paint on my face…"

Clarke laughed. "Nobody ever told you that you looked like a raccoon with that?"

Lexa blushed furiously. "What? No!"

"Oh yes you do!"

Clarke kept laughing as she saw Lexa frown. The brunette took a look at herself in the mirror and her eyes widened. "I do! Oh my god! Nobody ever told me." She started laughing alongside Clarke, but then they quickly finished their make up and decided to head to the party early. Firstly, because they would avoid Clarke's parents that way. And secondly, Clarke needed to talk to Bellamy before the party begun.

The ride to the Blake's house was rather short and the girls kept the conversation flowing easily. Everything seemed easy around Lexa. They got out of the car when they reached the house, and Clarke knocked on the front door. After just a moment, Octavia answered. She didn't look surprised, because Clarke had eventually texted her that they were coming.

"Hi, Clarke! Glad you made it." She gave the blonde a grateful smile.

"Yeah, I'm glad I'm here too." They both turned towards Lexa and Clarke introduced them. "Octavia, this is Lexa. Lexa, this is Octavia, one of my best friends."

"Nice to meet you." Lexa reached out to shake Octavia's hand. "I hope it's okay that I'm coming to your party."

"Yeah, yeah totally! The more, the merrier." Octavia winked and stepped away from the door to let them enter the house. "Bellamy's upstairs, Clarke. He hasn't come down since he got back from the store."

Clarke turned to go upstairs, but Octavia grabbed her arm to stop her. "Wait! Can I talk to you before you go see him?"

Clarke frowned, but accepted anyway. They went into the kitchen to have some privacy, leaving Lexa alone in the leaving room.

"What's up?" Clarke asked, curious as to why the brunette wanted to see her before she talked to Bellamy.

"Listen, Clarke… I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a while now…"

"What is it?" the blonde asked, now worried.

The brunette averted her gaze and kept it focused on the kitchen floor. "As much as I promised myself that I wouldn't interfere, I have to ask… Do you have feelings for my brother?"

Clarke's eyes widened in surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting that. Where was the question coming from?

"Of course I have feelings for him. I wouldn't date him otherwise."

"Yes, but I mean… do you _love_ him?"

Clarke opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She was dumbfounded. How was she supposed to answer that?

Octavia didn't wait for the answer that would obviously never come and continued, "Because he clearly loves you and I don't want him to get hurt. He's my brother and in spite of everything I can say, I love him."

"I-I don't know what I feel exactly towards him, but I didn't know his feelings were that strong." Clarke was shocked. How had she not seen it?

"Well they are. And since your fight, he hasn't come out of his room. I've never seen him so hung up on a girl, Clarke. You need to be straightforward with him. Either you love him or you don't. But you can't stay in between. He won't be able to handle it." And with that, Octavia left, leaving Clarke alone with her thoughts.

Clarke took a moment to process what her best friend had just said before she went to the living room again. She saw Lexa talking to Octavia, they were laughing while putting food out on the table. When Lexa saw Clarke, she smiled at her and waved her hand. Clarke smiled back, but Lexa immediately saw that it was fake. She didn't question it though, knowing the blonde would probably rather be alone right now. Except she needed to talk to Bellamy, and as much as she didn't want to face him after what Octavia said, she went upstairs to find him anyway.

The door to his bedroom was closed, so she knocked and waited for him to answer. "I'll come down when the others are here, O."

"Bellamy, it's me, Clarke."

She heard shifting in the room and, suddenly, the door opened to reveal a pale looking Bellamy. "You finally decided to come."

"Yes. Can I come in?" Clarke asked tentatively.

"Yeah, of course." He stepped to his left to let her enter his room.

She did and she shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, the reality of Octavia's words coming back to slap her in the face.

"Bellamy, I'm sorry for lying to you. I shouldn't have. I don't even know why I did it."

_To keep Lexa all to yourself._

_Shut up! That's not true._

_Right… Keep lying to yourself._

Ignoring her internal conversation with herself, she waited for Bellamy to say something back.

"I don't know what to say, Clarke. I feel like you didn't trust me on this."

"It's not that I didn't trust you, it's just that… I don't even know. It just seemed like a crazy story that nobody would believe. Even my parents didn't believe me." Clarke wanted to reach out to Bellamy, but decided against it. Octavia was right, she needed to tell him the truth, even though it would hurt, she just didn't want to do it tonight, just before a party at his own house.

"Your mom believes your story, she just doesn't trust this girl. Can you blame her, though? How crazy is that? She appears out of nowhere and has forgotten everything about her own life?" Clarke didn't like where the conversation was going. She felt anger building up inside her.

"Why can't people trust anyone? You don't even know her! You can't possibly know whether or not she's telling the truth."

"You don't know her either!" Now Bellamy's voice was raised as well. "Why are you even defending her?"

All of a sudden, Octavia burst into the bedroom. "Both of you just shut up! Lexa's down here and we can hear your yelling all the way outside of town."

"Sorry." Bellamy grunted.

"Don't just say sorry. Come downstairs and meet her instead of antagonizing her. She's really nice."

_Bam! Nice one Octavia._

Clarke looked at Bellamy pointedly, as if to say 'I told you so'.

Clarke made her way out of the room, but was stopped by Bellamy's hand on her forearm. "After the party, you and I need to talk."

"I agree."

And with that, they went downstairs, not daring to look at each other. Lexa stood in the middle of the living room, a glass of soda in her hand, a pained look on her face. Clarke immediately felt bad that Lexa heard her and Bellamy.

Octavia stood by Lexa's side and introduced her brother. "Lexa, this is my dumbass of a brother, Bellamy. Bellamy, this is Lexa."

Bellamy gave the brunette a slight nod and Lexa did the same, neither of them wanting to speak to each other. Before it turned even more awkward though, there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Lincoln. He said he'd come early to help get everything ready. Everyone should be here in less than an hour now."

Upon Lincoln's arrival, everyone seemed to relax a little and by the time the first guest arrived, everything was settled. The first ones to arrive were Jasper and Monty, bringing a lot of alcohol with them, as usual.

Raven and her mysterious boyfriend arrived soon after, as well as some other guests. Wick, Raven's boyfriend, quickly fit into their group. He was really nice and everyone liked him almost instantly.

Despite all her efforts though, Lexa stood a bit apart of everyone. She felt out of place. She didn't belong to this world and now she was realizing it. They hadn't ever had anything like these parties in her world. Sure, there were celebrations in her world, but they weren't ever like this. Here, people were dancing and drinking, laughing with one another and just enjoying life. In her world, survival was always the first thing on your mind. Lexa had never been able to completely put her guard down, not even for an instant.

"Hey." Clarke startled Lexa by sitting next to her suddenly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. I was just thinking." Had she just let her guard down enough to let Clarke surprise her?

"I could see that. That's why I came over here. To distract you from your thoughts." Clarke put down the glass she was carrying and offered her hand to Lexa. "Come on, dance with me!"

Lexa chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how to dance. At least, not like everyone is dancing tonight."

"What? You can't dance ridiculously like that? You'll catch on fast, it's not that hard," Clarke answered with a smirk. "Come on, it's time to let go of your world and everyone in it."

How could Lexa resist those beautiful blue eyes?

The brunette grabbed the blonde's hand and she never wanted to let it go. They started to dance like their lives depended on it. Dancing like fools and laughing for no other reason that the fact they were happy to be in each other company. Clarke didn't let go of Lexa's hand and the brunette was grateful for the constantly reassuring touch. She had never felt so connected to someone. In her world, she had always been the great Commander of The Twelve Clans. Here, she was nothing but a girl who couldn't dance, and she liked it. Very much.

After ten minutes, both girls were exhausted and made their way to the couch, still laughing. They talked and talked until someone called Clarke.

"Clarke, help me! Monty's throwing up all over the bathroom."

Clarke sighed and looked at Lexa with an apologetic smile. The brunette nodded as if to say 'Go. I'll be okay without you' and so Clarke left. Lexa hadn't had a single alcoholic drink since the party had begun. She went to grab one and took a sip. She liked the raw feeling of the liquid burning her throat as it flowed down, so she took another sip and then, another drink. Soon, she became tipsy. Not as tipsy as the other guests but still, a tipsy Lexa was not something someone got to see very often.

Lexa sat down at of the now empty tables and saw one of Clarke's friends, obviously drunk, trying to make his way towards her.

_I think his name is Jasper._

Her thoughts were confirmed when he reached her and said, "Hey! So you're Lexa, right? I'm J-J-Jasper. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled a friendly smile at him.

Jasper hiccuped. "So you're the amnesic girl…"

Wow, this guy sure knew how to be subtle. "Yep, that's me," the brunette answered.

"You know… I wanna be a doctor later. I could p-pr-practice on you." He smirked at her.

This guy had the worst pickup lines ever. At least, in her world, guys knew how to behave themselves around her. She found this Jasper refreshing. Lexa laughed lightly. "I think you're the one who needs a doctor right now."

"I'm perfectly f-f-fine," Jasper retorted, almost tripping on his feet when he tried to sit at the table Lexa was currently sitting at.

Lexa caught him and steadied him. Clarke got out of the bathroom at the exact same moment and at the sight of Lexa's hand on Jasper's chest, her heart stung. She wasn't stupid, she knew she was starting to have feelings for this girl. She couldn't act on them though. She had a boyfriend – future ex-boyfriend? - that she didn't want to hurt, even if the last few hours had been tense, and she didn't even know if the brunette was into girls at all.

But what followed soon after enraged her. Jasper had finally managed to sit next to Lexa and now had his arm around her neck. Lexa was clearly amused by the boy's behavior and didn't tell him off – at least, from what Clarke could see. At some point, Jasper tried to kiss Lexa and that was Clarke's breaking point. She stomped over them and fiercely grabbed Lexa's hand. She didn't stop when she heard Jasper calling after them nor did she let go before they were outside, the cold air surrounding them.

"Clarke! What's gotten into you?" Lexa asked, puzzled.

Clarke was now facing her, livid with rage. "What's gotten into _you_? What do you think you're doing, kissing my friends like that?"

Lexa took a step back, visibly hurt by the accusation. "I didn't kiss him. He tried to kiss me and I was about to stop him before you grabbed my hand and pulled me outside like a fury."

Clarke didn't say anything back, just glaring at her like she had killed her dog.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Clarke. He was just drunk, but he was nice. I wouldn't have taken advantage of him though. Besides, I'm not interested in him. But it obviously seems like you are." Lexa tried not to let the statement get to her and miserably failed. Was Clarke really into him? He seemed like a nice boy – at least, she supposed he was when he wasn't so drunk - so she could understand, but it didn't hurt any less.

"What are you even talking about? I'm not into him! Ew… Jasper's like my brother!" Clarke exclaimed, making it clear that Lexa was mistaken.

"So why are you pissed at me, then?"

Instead of answering, Clarke suddenly pinned Lexa against the wall of the house, closing the gap between them nearly all the way. She had wanted to do that since the moment she had laid eyes on her. Finally doing so felt great, invigorating even. They just stared at each other for a minute, neither one daring to move or break eye contact. Clarke was the first one to look away, looking at Lexa's lips instead, before slamming her lips against the brunette's, kissing her senseless. It was fierce and brutal, nothing soft like their usual interactions. The brunette immediately reciprocated, and her tongue brushed against the blonde's lips, asking for entrance. Clarke obliged eagerly, their tongues beginning to collide in an epic battle. Their kiss became a clash of teeth and tongues, completely pulling them away from the world around them.

That was until someone cleared their throat loud enough for them to break out from their trance. Raven was standing in the driveway, mouth agape at what she had just witnessed.

_Oh boy, I'm in trouble now._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's call it... the aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!  
> I forgot to post a chapter yesterday, sorry about that. there's gonna be 2 chapters today, one now, and one tonight.  
> hope you guys like it!

How weird was it that Clarke had to sleep in the same bed as the girl that she'd just so fervently kissed?

Even though Lexa had insisted that she'd sleep on the floor tonight, Clarke had adamantly refused. They were both at fault for the kiss happening - Clarke had initiated it, after all. So Lexa couldn't be the one to sleep on the floor when they were both guilty.

Neither of them could sleep, though. They stayed still, afraid that if they moved, the other one would go away and, despite the guilt, it was the last thing they wanted.

Clarke kept thinking. Hard. She thought about her relationship with Bellamy, and how she had irremediably damaged it this week, even beyond the kiss from the previous night. She kept thinking about what had pushed her to do something so foolish. She tried to blame it on the alcohol in her system, but she knew that that wasn't the reason she had kissed Lexa.

She had kissed Lexa, and Lexa had kissed her back, and they probably wouldn't have stopped if it hadn't been for Raven catching them.

Speaking of Raven, Clarke thought back to the girl's reaction. She had been angry at first, because Clarke was cheating on one of her best friends. However, she managed to calm down and tried to get an explanation out of Clarke. Except Clarke didn't have one, at least not a good one.

Raven told Clarke that it would be best if she went home, and she had promised to call the blonde in the morning. Raven hadn't seemed really angry. Just… really disappointed.

Suddenly, Lexa's voice broke the thick silence. "Clarke? Are you asleep?"

Clarke sighed, but refused to turn to face the brunette. "How could I be?"

"I'm sorry."

"I was the one who initiated it, remember?"

"Yeah, but I should have pulled away immediately. I knew you had a boyfriend and, at that moment, I didn't care."

"Clearly, I didn't care either." This time, Clarke rolled onto her side to face Lexa, and the brunette did the same.

Their faces only inches apart, Clarke immediately regretted that she hadn't slept on the floor. "We can't change what happened, but we can prevent it from happening again."

Lexa seemed thoughtful for a minute before she said, "You're right. I don't want to get in the way of you and Bellamy. He seems like a good guy, despite the fact that he doesn't trust me."

"He is. I don't want to hurt him."

"I should find someplace else to stay."

"You should, but that doesn't mean I want you to." Clarke stared into green eyes and begged, "Stay here. Please. As my friend."

Lexa stared right back at blue eyes for a moment, and then gave in. "Okay. I'll stay." She then stared at Clarke's lips and added, "I'll sleep on the floor though from now on."

Clarke didn't argue this time. She knew it was best for them.

"Goodnight, Clarke."

"Goodnight, Lexa."

Though she knew they had made the right decision, to just stay friends, that didn't prevent her heart from shattering. Needless to say, neither of them slept soundly that night.

 

//

 

"I know, Raven, I know. I fucked up."

"Big time, Clarke! Bellamy's a great guy."

Clarke was exasperated, although it was more at herself than at Raven. "Don't you think I know that? I don't know how I'm even supposed to look him in the eye now."

"Well you better think of something. Fast. Because we have a triple date tonight and if you cancel, he'll ask questions. After your fight yesterday, I don't think that's what you guys need right now."

"You heard about that?" Clarke was genuinely surprised. News traveled fast in their group of friends and privacy was a foreign concept. But that fast?

"Octavia told me after I asked why Bellamy was so grumpy last night," Raven explained. "What are you going to do? Are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know…" She had no idea what to do. She didn't want to lie to him, but she also didn't want to hurt him.

"I think he deserves the truth, Clarke. Plus, he'll probably find out by accident eventually. You should be the one to tell him."

Clarke knew Raven would keep her secret, but she was right. He would eventually find out.

"Fine, I'll tell him. After our date tonight. I don't want to ruin it for you guys. I barely got to talk to Wick last night."

"Okay. Just tell me how it goes, okay?"

"I will," Clarke promised and with that, she hung up. She was in the bathroom while Lexa was still sleeping in her bed – at least that's where she was when the blonde had left her. Her mom had to work today but her father would probably be home all day. That meant that Clarke and Lexa had to stay either in Clarke's bedroom or someplace else.

Clarke got out of the bathroom and went back to her room. Lexa had woken up and was getting dressed, so she was half naked, her back turned to Clarke.

Clarke blushed furiously and apologized, confused. "Oh sorry." She left her room hurriedly and leaned on the door after closing it. Her father came out of his own room and waved to his daughter.

"Hey, sweetie. You're up early."

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep."

"Too bad. So, how did it go last night?"

"Uh, it was fun." Clarke blushed even more, but her father didn't ask questions.

"Good. I'll make breakfast. Your mom should be up soon so we'll eat breakfast together."

"Actually, I'm not feeling so great. I think I'll just stay in my room and grab something later."

"Oh, okay." Her father headed downstairs after kissing her on the cheek.

Clarke heard a soft knock on her door and she knew it was safe for her to enter. Trying to push away the thoughts of Lexa naked in her bedroom, she went back inside. The brunette stood there, dressed and uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were changing."

"It's okay. It's your room, you can enter in any time you want." Lexa's blush wouldn't leave her face.

Clarke didn't say anything, instead just going to sit in front of her piano. That gave Lexa an idea. "So I know you're a musician, but I've never heard you play."

"I mostly play for myself. I get really self-conscious when I have an audience." Clarke averted her eyes from the brunette's.

"Oh… okay, I understand." Lexa seemed disappointed.

"Do you want me to play something for you?"

Lexa's head perked up. "But you just said that-"

"I know," Clarke interrupted her, "but I can make an exception for you, Lexa."

_Really? After you just agreed to stay friends with her? What is wrong with you?_

Clarke started playing the piano and Lexa stood beside her, amazed. She couldn't stop staring at her fingers and how they gracefully moved from one chord to another. Lexa was even more hypnotized when Clarke started singing. The blonde had a raspy voice, but it was truly beautiful.

When the song finished, Lexa felt a single tear rolling down her eye.

_Oh my god. I'm such a cliché._

Four days ago, she still was the heartless commander, and now she was crying over a song. How stupid was that?

She could almost hear Titus in the distance saying, 'This girl makes you weak, _Heda_ '. But the great thing about this world was that there was room for weakness. Especially for weaknesses like love.

_Wait a minute… Love? Don't you think that's a rushed?_

But it wasn't. Lexa wasn't the type of girl to fall in love step by step. She, like Clarke, believed in love at first sight, a love that was passionate and infuriating. She had felt that last night with Clarke. Passion and _even hunger_.

Clarke's mom knocked on her door, startling them both. "Clarke? Are you sure you don't want to eat anything for breakfast?"

"Yes, I'm sure mom. I'll grab something when I feel better," Clarke called back.

They heard Abby return to the kitchen and Lexa let out a relieved sigh. "You know, it's really stressful to be the intruder."

"An intruder is someone nobody wants, but _I_ want you here."

Their gazes locked once again and Lexa wondered briefly if Clarke was torturing her on purpose. Maybe it was in her nature to accidentally flirt with people. Lexa wasn't an expert at flirting, but she could easily tell that that was what Clarke was doing.

Clarke was the one to break eye contact and she cleared her throat. "So, what do you want to do this morning?"

 

//

 

After mostly making awkward small talk and avoiding eye contact for a while, they both decided to eat something. Clarke went full ninja mode and grabbed food without her parents noticing anything.

After a little while, they heard knocking on Clarke's door again.

"Honey? Can we come in?" It was her father who was speaking.

Lexa and Clarke's eyes widened and Lexa quickly started panicking. Clarke pointed to her closet and whispered, "Hide! Quick!"

Lexa did as she was told and hid in the closet, as quickly as she could without making too much noise.

"It's open," Clarke invited her parents to come in.

Abby and Jake came in and sat on Clarke's bed. Her father spoke first, "Honey, are you mad at us for the other day?"

"I still blame you for not giving Lexa a chance, yes."

Her mom looked down and asked carefully, "Is this why you've been locking yourself up in your room lately?"

"No, it's not." Her mother flashed her a doubtful gaze. "Really. I've just been really tired lately with school and everything."

"We know you didn't go to school on Thursday." It was her father who spoke again.

"Yeah, I felt sick. Like this morning." She knew it was a lame excuse, but she couldn't think of anything else right now, with Lexa hiding in her closet.

Her mother put her hand on Clarke's forehead. "I don't think you have fever. Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I might have just caught a virus or something," Clarke said, trying to reassure her mother.

Her father took her hand and said, "We've been thinking with your mother and we came to the conclusion that maybe we had judged this girl too fast."

"Lexa," Clarke interrupted him.

"What?"

"Her name is Lexa."

Her father flashed her a confused look. "Yeah, we judged Lexa too fast."

Her mom explained, "We want to have her for dinner. That way, we can get to know her, or at least what she remembers about herself. And if we come to trust her, then we can help her find her family."

"We already tried, but I think it's pointless. Nobody seems to know her." They couldn't afford Clarke's parents to dig into Lexa's past, they'd find nothing because she hadn't ever existed in this world. Clarke's heart warmed up at the thought of her parents making an effort for her, though. It was nice of them.

"Maybe you didn't look in the right places. We can have her photo broadcast on local television."

Clarke didn't know what to say, so she changed the subject. "I think she'll be glad to have dinner with you. Thanks."

Her father squeezed her hand and he and Abby returned downstairs again. Once it was safe, Lexa got out of the closet. "Really? Dinner? What am I supposed to say to them?"

"Don't worry, we'll make something up. We'll sort of create a bit of your background and for the rest… You technically have amnesia so it shouldn't be a problem," Clarke reassured her.

"Right."

 

//

 

It was already late in the afternoon when Clarke realized she had to get ready for the triple date. She wasn't looking forward to it because she didn't know exactly where she stood with Bellamy, but she quickly dressed and applied some make up then grabbed her coat and left. She had left Lexa some movies on her iPad, with headphones. At first, when she had shown Lexa how to use it, it had been a disaster, but the brunette quickly caught up and after a few trials, she knew how to use it.

Raven had told them to come straight to the theater, where they would watch a movie before then going to the restaurant to get the chance to talk. When Clarke got there, Raven and Wick were already there, looking for which movie they would see.

"Hey guys!" she greeted them as she approached.

"Hi Clarke! You're early for once," Raven teased the blonde.

Clarke flashed Wick a smile before turning to her friend. "Really? I thought I was late."

"Oh so that explains it." Raven smirked.

After a little more teasing, they spotted Octavia's car pulling up in the parking lot and she, Lincoln and Bellamy got out of the car. The couple greeted them and Bellamy placed a kiss on Clarke's cheek before pulling away and smiling at the others.

Clarke immediately thought back to the kiss she had shared with Lexa and felt guilt flooding her mind. She had promised Raven she would tell him, and she would. After the date.

They ended up choosing to see a comedy and everyone seemed to have a good time. In the parking lot, after they chose the restaurant, Octavia offered, not so subtly, "Bell, you can go in Clarke's car. That way you won't bother me when Lincoln and I kiss."

Clarke and Bellamy shared an uncomfortable glance before Bellamy said, "Sure."

They got into Clarke's car and the blonde drove, following Raven's car. The first part of the ride happened in an awkward silence, neither of them wanting to be the first one to apologize. When the silence became unbearable, Clarke finally said, "I'm sorry. About yesterday."

Bellamy briefly looked at her before he muttered, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten angry like that. It was stupid."

"Yes, it was." Bellamy furrowed his eyebrows. "But it was also stupid of me to not tell you the truth."

"So we're both stupid then." Clarke glanced at him and they both chuckled.

"What a great couple we make," Clarke joked.

"We're a perfect match," Bellamy said seriously, though he was smiling a little.

Clarke shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but didn't have time to say anything because they were finally reaching the restaurant.

Dinner was a little less awkward for the two of them, though Clarke was growing nervous as she wondered how Bellamy would react at what she was about to tell him after the date.

Everyone was having fun and Wick seemed like a good fit in their group. He was nice and truly seemed to care a lot about Raven. Everyone liked him and Raven was visibly relieved, because Wick seemed to like everyone as well.

Once they were almost kicked out of the restaurant for being too loud, they said goodbye and went their separate ways. Clarke drove Bellamy back to his house. Once they got there, and both of them had gotten out of the car, they were alone. Octavia was driving Lincoln back to his house.

Clarke was the one to break the silence. "Bellamy, I think we need to talk."

"I agree," he replied. "Clarke… I've been meaning to tell you for a while now… This past few months have been great and I've never felt so happy. I know the last few days have made things a little tense between us, but I really want you to know that it doesn't matter. Because I'll always be there for you, Clarke. I love you."

Clarke was stunned. Of all things Bellamy could say, she had not expected that.

_Oh my god, I'm about to break his heart._

In that moment, Clarke realized the huge mistake she had made by dating her best friend. She was about to lose her boyfriend, but mostly, she was about to lose her confidant, who had been with her since she was five. They had been best friends almost all their lives and she was about to throw all that away.

She felt tears in her eyes, but she said it anyway. "Bellamy… There's something you need to know." Bellamy's smile instantly fell and his face looked worried. "Last night… I was really angry at you and I had a few drinks and I…" She stopped, unable to continue.

"And you what, Clarke?" Bellamy's voice was strained now, contrasting with his sweet voice from when he had said those three words just a moment ago.

"I-I.." Tears rolled freely down her face now. "I kissed Lexa."

Bellamy stood still, as if he had been frozen on the spot. Clarke tried to reach out to him, but that seemed to break him out of his daze and he quickly stepped back.

"Bellamy, I'm so sorry. I was drunk and I didn't know what I was doing". Lie, she'd known exactly what she was doing. She simply hadn't thought of the consequences. "I'm not trying to make any excu-"

"Do you regret it?" Bellamy interrupted her, surprising both of them.

"I…"

"Answer me!" Bellamy snapped.

"I regret that I hurt you," Clarke answered quietly.

"But you don't regret kissing her?" It wasn't that much of a question, but more like a statement.

Clarke didn't answer, knowing there was no need since Bellamy already knew the answer.

Just before he turned around and retreated back into his house, he spat at her, "Don't bother coming tomorrow. You and I are done."

Clarke watched him helplessly as he closed the front door behind him. She couldn't stop crying, but knew she had to go back to her house. She tried to dry her tears, though she was unsuccessful. Through clouded vision, she checked the time on her phone. Midnight.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Clarke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please, leave a comment or kudos :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some good fluff happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey again with a new chapter!  
> I can't stress enough how important it is that you guys let me know your thoughts ^^ you can do it here or on tumblr @commanderofcandles  
> Thanks again to BrittzandTana for editing this and many of my stories  
> time to enjoy!

After a night of crying in Lexa's arms – to hell with Lexa sleeping on the floor – Clarke woke up on Sunday morning, exhausted. She slowly opened her eyes and her very first thought was that she was really comfortable. Her mind did a double take when she realized that she was still in Lexa's arms. The brunette had one arm wrapped snugly around her waist and the blonde's head was resting on Lexa's shoulder, their legs entangled. The last thing Clarke wanted was to move and wake the brunette up. She wanted to stay like this forever.

After a little while though, she heard Lexa mutter in her sleep. She carefully pulled herself out of her grip and faced the brunette. Lexa started crying and repeated, "No, no please don't make me do this!" over and over again. Her voice was desperate. It was as if she was reliving a really painful memory.

Hating that Lexa was in any kind of pain, Clarke quickly put her hand on Lexa's cheek and gently tried to wake her up. "Lexa. Lexa! Wake up, it's just a nightmare."

Lexa suddenly sat up straight in Clarke's bed, breathing heavily, her eyes wide open as if she was scared that she was still stuck in the terrible nightmare. Clarke put a reassuring hand on her back and started tracing small circles with her fingers to calm her down. "It's okay. You're safe. It was just a nightmare," she said.

Lexa's breathing was still heavy and she turned and pulled the blonde into a tight hug, as if to make sure she was real. "It just seemed so real."

"It's over now."

Lexa pulled away and cupped the blonde's cheeks in her hands. "You're really here. I didn't hurt you."

Clarke frowned and asked the brunette, "Why would you hurt me? Lexa?"

Lexa let go of Clarke's face and looked at her hands, now resting between her legs. "I dreamed of you. You were in my world and we were…"

"What, Lexa? We were what?" Clarke encouraged her to continue.

"We were together." Clarke raised an eyebrow in surprised and blushed lightly. "My people had found out about us and my counselor tried to make me kill you."

Clarke was horrified. "Why would he do that?"

"Because in my world…" She made eye contact with Clarke. "… love is weakness. And _Heda_ cannot afford to be weak."

Clarke tried once again to avoid thinking about what that sentence implied. "That's completely wrong. Love is strength. It brings people hope and happiness," Clarke argued.

"Where I'm from, people don't see it that way," Lexa countered.

Clarke put her hand on Lexa's arm. "Well, I'm here. And I'm okay."

"Are you really? Because you cried all night and you wouldn't even tell me why." Lexa now sounded concerned, remembering how Clarke had seem so upset when she came into her bedroom last night.

The blonde sighed and looked up at the ceiling, hoping that that would make the tears she felt coming go away. "Bellamy and I broke up."

"Oh, Clarke I'm so sorry." The brunette pulled her in a hug again.

Clarke quickly pulled away this time and dried her tears. "Yeah well, we had it coming."

"Why? I thought you liked him?" Lexa asked, curious.

"I did. I mean, I do. But I realized I like him better as my best friend," Clarke stated.

"Ouch… He must not have liked that."

"No, he didn't. Especially when I told him I had kissed you just after he told me he loved me."

Lexa gasped and queried, "How did he take it?" Clarke gave her a pointed look. "Yeah, sorry. Stupid question obviously." She tried to lighten the mood, albeit in her own awkward but cute way. "You can't blame him though. Who wouldn't like you?"

Clarke instantly stiffened, though it was obvious she was flattered by the blush that spread across her cheeks. "You can't say things like that, Lexa. Even though we broke up, you and I agreed to remain friends."

"Why? I mean, you two are done. There's nothing stopping us to be together now."

Clarke's mouth opened in shock. "You did not just say that."

"Say what? That I want to be with you? I think it's pretty obvious and, going off of the way you kissed me the other night, I'm pretty sure you want this too."

"I just lost my boyfriend _and_ best friend. I'm not ready to be in any relationship right now, even with you. Do they teach you to be insensitive as well as sparring in your world?"

"As a matter of fact, they do." Lexa's lips curved up in a little smile and just that sight managed to make Clarke laugh, all trace of exasperation vanishing in an instant. Lexa joined in and soon, their heads collapsing onto the bed. They didn't even know why they were laughing, but they were, and it felt great after the tension of the past few days.

A knock on Clarke's door soon interrupted them though. It was becoming a habit of her parents, apparently, to interrupt them when they were having fun.

"Clarke? Is someone in there with you?" the blonde heard Abby ask from the other side of the door.

Clarke quickly calmed herself down and reassured her mother, "No, I'm just on the phone with Octavia and I put her on speaker."

"Oh, okay. Can I interrupt you for a minute?"

Clarke and Lexa looked at the closet again. If it kept going like this, Lexa would end up staying forever in it, just to be safe. She hid like she had done the day before and then Clarke called Abby to come in.

"Would you mind texting Lexa and asking her when she'll be available for dinner?"

"Sure, I'll ask her." Clarke flashed her mother a smile.

Abby then glanced at the clock and her eyes widened. "It's already eleven. Shouldn't you be ready for Bellamy to come pick you up?"

Clarke's smile faded and she winced. "Bellamy and I… We're not together anymore." As much as she didn't want to talk about it right now, especially not with her mother, she knew she would find out eventually. She might as well just get it over with.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

Clarke couldn't tell her that she had kissed Lexa, so she simply stated, "I just realized I liked him more as a best friend than a boyfriend."

Abby went and grabbed Clarke in a tight hug. "It's okay. He'll forgive you eventually. I know how much you care about him and I'm sure he knows it too."

"Yeah, well. I'm not so sure about that."

Abby gave Clarke a sympathetic smile and offered, "Why don't you invite Lexa over today? This way you won't be alone and we can get to know her. I'll make a great lunch."

"Aren't you and dad supposed to go out to a restaurant?"

"We are. Tonight."

"Okay then. I'll tell Lexa, I don't think she had anything planned anyway."

Abby kissed her daughter on the forehead before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Lexa got out of her hidden spot and smiled at Clarke. "No more hiding today I guess?"

Clarke returned the smile and said, "You'll just go through my window and knock on the front door to pretend you weren't already there."

"The things I'd do for you." Lexa flashed her a smirk.

"May I remind you that I'm the one letting you stay here?"

"Fair enough."

After dressing and watching Lexa gracefully climb out of her window, as if she had done those kinds of things all her life, Clarke went downstairs and waited for the bell to ring. When it did, Clarke called at her mother, "I'll get it! Must be Lexa."

She opened it to unsurprisingly reveal the brunette standing on the other side of the door. Lexa looked relieved when she saw that Clarke was the one to open the door. "Hey, you," Clarke greeted, as though they hadn't just seen each other less than a minute ago.

"Hey," Lexa replied in the same playful tone, smiling.

Clarke stepped aside to let the brunette in and soon, Abby entered the living room.

"Hi, Lexa. Glad to see you again." Abby's smile was genuine.

"Me too. I believe last time wasn't exactly a good time for a good first impression." Lexa let out a nervous laugh. Clarke thought it was really cute that the brunette was so nervous about having dinner with her parents. The blonde was really thrilled that her family seemed to be making an effort.

"I need to go back to the kitchen, but make yourself comfortable while I finish making lunch," Abby said, turning around to leave.

"Do you need any help?" Lexa offered.

Abby was about to decline when she realized that it might be less awkward for the both of them if they just casually talked while making food. "Yes, actually. Maybe you and Clarke could prepare the salad."

Clarke nodded her head and Lexa replied, "Lead the way."

Abby gave them all the vegetables and lettuce and Lexa started cutting avocados while Clarke mostly watched her, doing nothing in particular aside from staring.

"You know, you could actually help me instead of just staring at me in a creepy way."

"Nah, I'm good. I'd rather stick to watching you in a creepy way." Clarke smiled playfully.

"I figured." Lexa returned the smile.

Distracting by their small banter, the knife Lexa was cutting the vegetables with slipped and cut her finger. It was superficial but still deep enough for some blood to appear. Clarke noticed and gasped. Abby turned around at the sound and Lexa quickly put her hand behind her back, grabbing a towel to stop her blood from dripping everywhere.

Abby figured that the girl had cut her finger and went to her. "Show me the cut."

Lexa looked at Clarke, panicked, knowing the blonde had saw what she did not want anyone else to see. "It's nothing, really. I'll just put some bandage on."

"Come on, I'm the doctor here. I've seen worst things than a cut finger." Abby tried to reach out to the brunette.

Clarke stepped in. "Mom, it's okay. I'll just take her to the bathroom and clean it up like you taught me."

Abby looked at her daughter, puzzled, before giving in. "Fine."

Clarke grabbed Lexa uninjured hand and motioned for the brunette to follow her. Once Lexa had her back turned from Abby, she mouthed 'Thank you' to the blonde.

They went to the bathroom upstairs and Clarke closed the door behind them. "Did I just see what I think I just saw?"

"Depends on what you think you saw." The brunette flashed her a nervous smile.

"Is your blood… black?"

Lexa sighed and put the towel down, revealing her hand to Clarke. "Yeah, it is. It's something specific to our world."

"Uh _yeah,_ I'm pretty sure blood _here_ is red," Clarke replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Not everyone's blood is black in my world. Some of us are called 'Nightbloods'. We're the only ones fit to become Commander," Lexa explained succinctly.

"Okay..." Clarke took Lexa's injured hand in hers and she felt the brunette shiver. "Your world just keeps getting weirder and weirder." She narrowed her eyes, looking at Lexa who was looking at their hands. "You're getting weirder and weirder."

The brunette tore her gaze away from their hands and apologized, "I'm sorry. I know it's a lot to take in."

Clarke didn't reply and just observed the brunette's wound. It didn't look deep, so a bandage would do. She opened a cupboard and grabbed disinfectant. She warned the brunette, "It's going to sting a little."

The brunette didn't seem fazed at all when Clarke applied the product and Clarke remembered that she had gone through a lot worse than a small cut on her finger. Clarke then carefully applied the bandage and rested her hand on the brunette's. Their eyes locked once again, drawn to each other, and Clarke forgot what they were supposed to be doing.

Lexa was the one to break eye contact and she cleared her throat before she could do something stupid that the blonde would likely regret. "Uh, thanks for taking care of that."

Clarke let go of her hand and tried to say in the most poised voice she could manage, knowing it wouldn't be very convincing. "Don't mention it. Are you ready to go back downstairs?"

The brunette nodded and they went back to the kitchen, where Lexa proceeded to make the salad ready, with Clarke’s help this time.

 

//

 

"So, Lexa, tell me. What do you like to do?" Clarke's father asked Lexa.

The four of them were having lunch in Clarke's dining room. Lexa and Clarke were seated next to each other, in front of Clarke's parents. To Lexa's great surprise, Jake and Abby had been really nice so far. They were obviously making an effort because they knew Clarke that had been mad at them for not even trying to get to know Lexa.

Lexa gulped, but didn't let anything give away her nervousness. "I like to fence. I had a great teacher who's taught me everything about it since I was little. Her name was Anya."

It was the first time Clarke heard sorrow in Lexa's voice while talking about her past life. She wondered if the girl would ever regret her decision and return to her world, if she would ever leave Clarke. The blonde could only hope that she wouldn't. After only a few days spent in the brunette's company, Clarke wasn't sure how she would react if Lexa was to ever leave her.

"Really? That's interesting. I've never seen someone fence. Always thought it was too dangerous, even with protections and everything," Clarke's father replied.

Lexa chuckled a little and said," It can be even more dangerous than you imagine." The comment, as Clarke knew, was obviously referring to Lexa's world.

Abby had been awfully quiet up until then, but she finally joined the conversation and asked, "So you like danger then?"

Lexa instantly replied, "I definitely like the adrenaline that it gives me. But I also enjoy the peace and quiet that comes after a fight."

"You're an original girl," Abby added. "That's maybe why my daughter likes you so much." Abby smiled at Clarke, and Lexa turned to gaze at her. Clarke blushed under the intense stare of her mother and the beautiful green eyes of Lexa. The blonde wondered what her mother had meant by that comment.

The conversation kept flowing after that and they all enjoyed the lunch that Abby had cooked. After they finished, Abby got up and gathered the plates.

"Oh, let me help you with that." Lexa started getting up.

"No, you're the guest. Clarke will help me, right Clarke?"

Clarke glanced at her mother and replied, "Uh, yes sure."

Clarke took hers and Lexa's plate and followed her mom to the kitchen. "Thanks for making lunch mom. It was fun, and I appreciate yours and dad's effort to be nice to Lexa."

"It was nothing. We actually should have done it before. She's a really nice girl." Clarke gave her a pointed look and Abby huffed, "Yes, okay, you were right." Clarke broke into a smile and Abby returned it. "Tell me if I'm wrong, but I couldn't help but notice the way you look at her. Do you have feelings for her? Is that what made you realize that Bellamy was just a friend? Because I've never seen you look at him the way you look at her."

Clarke shifted uncomfortably, but decided to be honest with her mom, "I don't know exactly how I feel about her. But what is sure is that I like her more than any of the people I've ever met."

Abby smiled again and said, "Then, go for it. Life's short you know. You should just enjoy the moment."

That's what Clarke had done on Friday night when she had kissed Lexa, and it hadn't turned out well.

"I noticed the way she looks at you, too. If you hadn't known each other for only a week, I'd say she's already in love."

And just like that, Abby left the kitchen, leaving a very confused Clarke with her even more confusing feelings.

"So, who wants dessert?" she heard her mother ask.

Clarke went back to her seat, but remained mostly quiet while they ate dessert. Her mom's words wouldn't leave her head. Not because she was wondering whether or not Lexa was in love with her - she was convinced that that wasn't the case anyway – but because she was trying to figure out whether or not _she_ was in love with the brunette. The blonde knew she'd had feelings toward Lexa the second she saw her. Hell, she had almost run over her and yet all she did at first was stare at her beauty. How messed up was that?

Was she what Clarke had been looking for? Love at first sight? It may be cheesy, but Clarke really did believe in it. Plus, ever since she had gotten to know Lexa, everything that she learned about her seemed to only intensify what she felt toward her.

Jake's voice pulled Clarke away from her thoughts. "We'll clean up the table. Clarke, why don't you take Lexa upstairs and show her your room?"

Clarke tried not to laugh at that and stood up, ready to leave. Before they went upstairs though, Lexa said gratefully, "Thank you for dinner. I had fun. Clarke is lucky to have parents like you."

"It was a pleasure to get to know you, Lexa." Abby replied and when Lexa turned around, she winked at her daughter. Clarke opened her mouth, but no words came out, and she just grunted and followed Lexa upstairs.

Once they were in the familiar territory of Clarke's room, Lexa asked "So, what do you wanna do?"

"I, unfortunately, have to do my homework, because I haven't been very focused this week because of a certain someone." Clarke smiled.

Lexa blushed a little and smirked, "Admit it, you're glad that I distract you from your otherwise boring life."

"My life is not boring!" Clarke feigned hurt.

"You're right, not boring. Maybe just a little too perfect for your own good?"

"Despite what you think, you made it even more perfect in some ways." Clarke was no longer smiling.

"Yeah, because being part of the reason you and Bellamy broke up makes it so much more perfect," Lexa stated sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Not that part, you idiot. But the part where I don't feel alone anymore."

"Then you made my life perfect too, because I feel the same way."

Lexa took a step towards Clarke who immediately took a step back. She knew it wasn't fair after what she had just said, but she didn't feel ready. Not after just breaking up with Bellamy and possibly ruining their friendship. She didn't want the same thing to happen with her and Lexa. If she was to choose between keeping Lexa forever in her life as a friend and having a great but short relationship with her, there wasn't even a decision to be made. She would do whatever it took to keep Lexa in her life. Even if that meant remaining friends.

Clarke cleared her throat and said, "It shouldn't take long." Lexa gave her a puzzled look and Clarke clarified, "My homework I mean. So just do whatever you want while I finish."

Needless to say, Clarke had some trouble focusing on her homework. But she finally managed to finish it after a little while and stood up from her desk. Lexa was laying on her bed, but as soon as Clarke had gotten up, the brunette did the same and went to search under Clarke's bed.

"Did you drop something?" Clarke asked, puzzled as to what could be under her bed.

"Actually, yes. This." Lexa got up with a CD in her hand and handed it to Clarke.

' _From another world_ ' was written on it. Clarke supposed it was Lexa's handwriting. Clarke looked up at Lexa, who suddenly seemed shy, but was smiling at her. "What is it?"

"Well, after you showed me how to use your iPad, I was curious and I did some research on the thing you call 'the Internet'. I knew you liked music, so I figured out how to make a play list. I went to some electronic shop and I paid a guy to put it on a CD. It was with the money you gave me so basically, you paid for your own gift but…"

Clarke was stunned. How amazing could this girl be?

Lexa encouraged, "Come on! Listen to it!"

Clarke put the CD into her sound system and waited for the first song to play. She was even more stunned when she heard the sound of her own piano playing. In fact, all of the instruments that were in her room added up, one by one.

Lexa stood next to her and reached for the blonde's hands. "I, too, am a musician. We had found a few instruments in some bunker in my world, so we kept them as treasures and little by little, I learned how to play." They were staring in each others' eyes, losing themselves in the intensity of their stares. "All the songs on that CD are songs from my world. It is quite different than the music here, but I think you'll like it."

Soon the first song was finished. Lexa hadn't let go of Clarke's hands. "I love it. It's so beautiful." Clarke's voice was suddenly shaky. She turned to face Lexa and added, tears welling in her eyes, "Just like you."

Lexa's right hand came to dry Clarke's tears before they fell. "Hey, I didn't make that to make you cry."

"It's because I'm happy. _You_ make me happy."

Lexa couldn't resist it anymore and she leaned in for a kiss. This time, Clarke didn't step away, fully accepting her feelings toward the incredible brunette. The kiss was soft and gentle, not at all like their first one. Lexa cupped Clarke's cheeks and Clarke put her arms around Lexa's neck, never wanting to let go of the brunette.

They pulled apart when the need for air became an actual issue and Lexa grinned at Clarke. "Happy Valentine's day, Clarke."

Clarke smiled, surprised. "How did you know about that? From your books?"

"No, I saw the advertisements everywhere and ended up asking what it was about to some random guy. He looked at me like I was crazy, but he explained what it was. I immediately thought of you."

Clarke realized something and she smirked. "Wait… You did all this while I was out on a date with Bellamy? Isn't that a little messed up?"

"Maybe…" Lexa replied, shyly. "But at first it was just a friendly gift."

Clarke's smirk broke into a knowing smile. "Yeah, sure."

They laughed a little and Clarke finally let go of Lexa. She went to her desk and searched through her drawers. "I got something for you too. Of course, it's lame compared to your amazing gift."

Lexa was surprised, having not really expected the blonde to give her something, but reassured her, “I’m sure it's not."

Clarke handed her a box and urged Lexa, "Open it!"

Lexa opened the small cardboard box and found something that resembled a phone inside. She looked up at Clarke, puzzled. Clarke was grinning at her as she explained, "It's a cell phone. This way, we will always be able to talk to each other, even when I'm at school."

Lexa seemed to understand and grinned as well. "Thank you. It's a wonderful gift."

"Well it's not as romantic as your gift, but I wasn't expecting you to get me anything," Clarke said, a bit embarrassed.

"No, it's a really great gift if it allows us to talk at any time."

Clarke approached Lexa and kissed her softly again. The sound of Clarke's phone interrupted them. Seeing that Clarke wasn't going to check who it was, Lexa said, breaking the kiss to do, "You should look."

"No, whoever it is it can wait until after I've enjoyed this moment," Clarke insisted, leaning in again.

Lexa leaned back and urged her, "It might be Bellamy."

Clarke sighed, but went to where her phone was anyway. "I doubt it." She saw a text from Jasper.

**Jasper: Hey Clarke! Sorry to bother you today but could you give me Lexa's phone number? I acted like a drunken ass at the party and I just wanted to apologize to her.**

Clarke chuckled. Jasper had a perfect timing, considering she had just gave Lexa a phone. Lexa approached from behind and put her arms around Clarke's waist, looking down at the blonde's phone to see who had interrupted them. She smiled when she saw the text and Clarke's reply.

**Clarke: I'm with her right now so I'll tell her, don't worry. But in fact, I wanted to thank you for being an ass that night ;)**

Jasper's answer came almost instantly.

**Jasper: ?**

**Clarke: I'll explain tomorrow, it's a long story. Happy Valentine's Day, Jasper.**

She put her phone down, not waiting for Jasper's response. She rested her head against Lexa's cheek. "I guess we should thank him after all. If he hadn't gotten that drunk, I probably wouldn't have kissed you. On the other hand, I'd probably still be friends with Bellamy."

Lexa pulled away. "Do you regret that he broke up with you?"

"No, that's not what I meant. If he hadn't, I would have done it anyway. It's just that he must be furious at me and will probably never forgive me. I wouldn't blame him," Clarke explained.

Lexa took one of Clarke's hand in her own and starting drawing small patterns on it. "He obviously cares about you, so he'll forgive you eventually. For now, all you can do is give him some time."

"I hope you're right." Clarke pulled Lexa onto the bed with her and made the brunette sit on her lap. "Where did you get all that experience from? Did you have time for other things than sparring in your world?"

"Haha. Very funny. You already know I made music when I had the chance, but if you wanna know everything… you're not the only one who screwed a friendship up."

That picked Clarke's curiosity. "What do you mean?"

Lexa became a bit nervous and started playing with Clarke's fingers. "I mean that I had a great friend once, Costia. She was the only thing that made me have believe that there was still hope for our world. A hope for peace between clans. She was from another clan, but we became friends, good friends. But eventually I made a move on her because I thought I was in love with her and she freaked out. She said she couldn't be friends with me anymore and when her mom – who also happened to be the queen of that clan - learned what I had done, she threatened to pull away from the coalition that united the clans." Lexa stopped playing with Clarke's fingers and turned around to look at the blonde in the eye. "Turns out I wasn't even in love, but I had almost caused a war. That's when I promised myself to never love again. Because love was weakness."

She resisted the urge to add ' _At least, I thought so until I met you_ '. She wasn't sure how the blonde would react to that and she didn't want to scare her away. She tried to create a distraction from the topic. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that… Costia never really cared about me, even as a friend, whereas Bellamy clearly does care about _you,_ so he won't make the mistake to get you out of his life. If I were him, I'd do anything to keep you in it."

Clarke didn't know what to say, so she just kissed the brunette. This time, the kiss became more heated and soon, their hands were roaming over each others' bodies. Clarke pulled away as she felt something on Lexa's back, like a scar. She looked at it, then at Lexa who was staring at her. It was a scar, but the blonde didn't need to ask where Lexa got it from, she could read the answer in her eyes. That scar, Clarke thought, was just another reminder that Lexa didn't come from the same world as her. But that didn't matter, because Lexa had now found a new home in this world, and Clarke wasn't ready to let her go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only 4 chapters left now!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> clarke and lexa are both insanely cute (and idiots)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!  
> time for the daily update!  
> hope you like this chapter, it's a bit lenghty  
> thank you again to BrittzandTana for editing this story!  
> enjoy!

Was it insensitive for Clarke to be currently having fun with a certain brunette when she had broken up with her boyfriend less than a day ago? Yes, completely. But she couldn't find it in her heart to care when Lexa's hands where so softly exploring her body, like Clarke was the most precious thing in the world.

Clarke's right hand was cupping the brunette's cheek while the left was softly making its way towards Lexa's abs. They felt perfectly sculpted under the blonde's touch, and Clarke had a sudden urge to explore every curve of Lexa's perfect body.

Lexa's lips left her own and trailed down her neck, placing light kisses on it before Clarke let out a soft moan. Lexa almost didn't hear it, but nothing could escape her sharp hearing – years of training did could do that to someone. When she heard it, not only did she became incredibly turned on, but she decided to suck a little on what she figured must be Clarke's pulse point. When the blonde only moaned louder, Lexa couldn't prevent a triumphant smirk from appearing on her face. The brunette made her way back to Clarke's lips and she sucked a little on her bottom lip. Her name escaped from the blonde's lips and Lexa took that as her chance, her tongue immediately _begging_ for entrance. Clarke granted it instantly and, seeing Lexa so distracted, she made them roll over and landed on top.

"You like being in control, huh?" Lexa smirked, though her husky voice gave her away.

Clarke leaned in and grazed Lexa's lips, her eyes never leaving the brunette's. Their eyes were dark with desire, making them forget literally everything around them. When they were together, they always felt like they were in some sort of world of their own, where nothing else mattered.

When she couldn't take the teasing anymore, Lexa grabbed Clarke's face and pulled her into a fierce kiss. She quickly made her intentions clear by pulling Clarke's shirt up a bit, still giving the blonde the option to back out if things were going too fast. When the blonde lifted her arms up, Lexa didn't hesitate for a second, she immediately pulled off the blonde's shirt and tossed it on the floor. Or at least, she thought she had tossed it on the floor, but the sound of strings playing startled them both. Clarke's shirt had landed on her guitar. They glanced at it, then at each other, and laughed. It lasted only a second before the blonde kissed Lexa again.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

"Girls?"

"Gee, can't we have _one_ moment?" Clarke groaned in frustration.

"We're at your house, after all. At this point it's kind of expected."

Clarke could see right through Lexa. She knew that behind those words, the brunette was just as frustrated as her. The blonde spoke loudly enough to be heard by her mother, "What, mom?"

"Your father and I are heading out. Lexa can spend the night here, but don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow."

"Yeah, we won't. Thanks, mom, and have fun with dad!"

Clarke looked at the brunette, who was looking at her with a smirk. "You do realize that if we had just waited ten more minutes…"

"I know," Clarke interrupted. She was already frustrated enough, no need to add to that frustration. This probably hadn't been the best idea, since Clarke's parents had been just downstairs.

Lexa waited until she heard the front door open and close soon after to face the blonde. The blonde had gotten up, but Lexa was still laying on the bed. She grabbed Clarke's hand and pulled her firmly down to her, earning a squeal from the blonde. The brunette started kissing her again and said in a husky voice, her eyes darker than ever, "Now where were we?"

 

//

 

Clarke woke up with a grin on her face the next morning, and the first thing she saw was Lexa's sleepy face. The brunette had one arm around her waist but, unlike the other night, their legs were entangled and their fingers intertwined.

The blonde glanced at the time and saw that for once, she still had a chance to get to her first period on time. She quickly decided that she would be late again though, because how could she ever leave her bed when such a beauty was so peacefully sleeping in it?

After a while though, Clarke felt the brunette stir a little and she soon opened her eyes. "Good morning, sleepy head," Clarke greeted the blonde.

Once Lexa had woken up a bit, she replied, smiling like an angel, "Good morning, beautiful. Sleep well?"

"Like a baby. You?"

"Meh. I've slept better." Clarke shoved her in the shoulder and Lexa broke into a grin. "Just kidding. I've never slept so soundly."

"Good." Clarke paused and couldn't resist saying the brunette, "Last night was…"

"Amazing?" Lexa finished. "Yeah."

Once Clarke's parents had left, no one had stood in their way. "I never want to leave this bed."

Lexa sighed. "Me neither. Do you have to go to school?"

"You know the answer to that question." The blonde kissed Lexa softly on the lips. She started to get up, but Lexa thought otherwise and pulled her back into her arms, Clarke's back turned to Lexa's front.

"You can't leave me here all day. I won't survive."

Clarke chuckled and said, "Stop being so dramatic and let me get up. I'm definitely late now."

"But it's worth it, isn't it?"

Clarke hummed. "Maybe, I haven't decided yet."

Lexa poked her in the side and the blonde laughed, giving up. "Okay, okay, I surrender! It was totally worth it." She gave Lexa a quick peck on the lips before she finally got up.

She started to dress until she noticed Lexa's eyes on her. The blonde gave her a pointed look and Lexa only said defensively, while lifting her hands up in the air, "What? Nothing I haven't already seen."

Clarke threw her shirt at the brunette's face and she chuckled. "You have no chill."

She ended up having to choose another shirt for the day because Lexa wouldn't give the previous one back to her, saying that she would never gave it back because it smelled like the blonde. Despite Clarke rolling her eyes, her blush didn't go unnoticed by Lexa. Clarke felt her heart swell every single time Lexa said something like that, and it was pretty often. Who knew the commander could be so fucking cheesy?

 

//

 

"You're late again, Clarke," her history teacher said, once she reached the classroom a bit later.

"Sorry, it won't happen again," Clarke apologized, embarrassed because everyone was staring at her, but mostly because she spotted Raven with a smirk on her face in the back of the classroom.

"You said that last time. And the time before." The teacher didn't seem mad, just weary.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Take your seat and be quiet."

Clarke did as she was told and, as soon as she was seated, Raven whispered, "Were you with Lexa?" She put emphasis ' _x_ ', knowing that it would annoy the blonde. Clarke remained silent, not wanting to risk the teacher hearing her talking, but her furious blush gave her away. "Oh my god, you totally were!"

"Miss Reyes! Do you really want to go to the principal today? Because that can be arranged, you know."

"Sorry, sir."

Raven stayed silent for the rest of the class, but Clarke knew she was on the other girl's radar. She wouldn't be able to escape the embarrassing questions.

The morning went by pretty fast and soon, Clarke was at her locker, grabbing the stuff she needed for her afternoon classes. She wasn't sure whether or not she should go to the cafeteria sit with her friends like everything was fine. She had successfully avoided Bellamy all morning, but she didn't want to push her luck too far.

She checked the time to see if she had time to buy a sandwich and eat it outside of school, but saw that she had a text from Lexa. The corner of her lips instantly turned upwards and she quickly opened the text.

**Lexa: You better check out the front of your school :D ^^ xx**

_I knew I shouldn't have showed her the emoji's…_

Clarke smiled at her adorableness and replied.

**Clarke: Why? Is there someone I need to see?**

**Lexa: Come and see for yourself! I hope you're hungry :p xx**

_Yes, I definitely shouldn't have._

Clarke hurried to the front of the school, a smile plastered on her face. She couldn't believe Lexa was here. The brunette seemed to be more and more wonderful by the second, if that was even possible. The blonde went outside and her eyes scanned the entire area, eager to see a certain girl. She finally caught on beautiful green eyes that she loved so much and grinned. Lexa waved and Clarke approached her. She noticed the picnic table and bags of food. And was that a candle?

"I can't believe you're here." Clarke grabbed one of Lexa's hands in her own. She was still amazed that every time she did so, her heart rate seemed to pick up and she felt butterflies in her stomach. It was cheesy, she knew that, but that didn't make it any less true. "Couldn't spend more than a few hours without me, huh?" the blonde teased.

"Actually… no." Lexa admitted.

Clarke raised an eyebrow. "What? No snarky comments?"

"No, not today." Lexa then searched through the bags of food. "I made us sandwiches. In fact, I'd never even made a sandwich before and I had to research it on the Internet, so I hope it's not too bad." Lexa pursed her lips. "Not really the prefect romantic meal."

Clarke squeezed her hand, drawing Lexa's attention back to her. "It's perfect to me. Really," she assured her.

Lexa smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I figured you wouldn't want to sit with Bellamy at lunch, so I came to your rescue."

"I see I have the prefect girlfriend."

The words had escaped her lips against her will and she gasped. Lexa's eyes seemed to suddenly shine and she stared into Clarke's blue ones. "Girlfriend, huh? I like the sound of that."

Clarke looked sheepishly at her. "Really? Because we never really talked about it. I mean… I don't know how it works for people in your world. I mean… I know how it was for you specifically but –"

Lexa cut her off with a soft kiss, squeezing the blonde's hand. Once she pulled away, she said, "Clarke, chill out. It's okay with me as long as it's okay with you."

Clarke heard someone clear their throat behind her and she turned around to see Octavia, glaring at them and looking pissed off.

_Crap._

"Octavia!" Her brunette friend threw one last glare at her before she turned on her heels to leave. "Octavia wait!"

Her friend stopped but didn't turn around, she simply growled in a low voice, "I came looking for you because everybody was worried about why you weren't already there." She turned around and the look on her face sent chills running down Clarke's spine. "I didn't want to. Not after what you did to my brother, but I told myself 'Come on, Octavia. She's your friend! Give her a chance to explain!' But I see now that there was nothing to worry about. You seem happy, not like my brother who's still in his bed, mourning over you!" She was yelling now and several heads turned to look at what was happening.

"Octavia, please listen… I know I screwed up."

"You think?" Octavia snapped, making Clarke stumble backwards under the intensity of her glare.

"Just listen to me, please! I know I have no excuses. I broke Bellamy's heart…"

"Yeah, after I warned you that he was in love with you!"

Clarke felt Lexa stiffen next to her, but she didn't look at her. "I know. You were right. I should have been honest with him from the beginning. You don't know how much I regret hurting him." Clarke's eyes filled with tears threatening to fall.

Octavia sighed and lowered her voice a bit, though she was still furious. "Listen, Clarke. I want you to be happy, really I do. But not at my brother's expense." She glanced at Lexa.

Lexa stared right back at her, looking pissed as well. Nobody had the right to make her girl cry, not even her closest friends. "You listen, Octavia. I understand that you're just looking out for your brother. Really, I do. But I suggest you go back inside know. Clarke already feels guilty enough."

Clarke stepped in, "Lexa, don't."

Octavia snapped, not even noticing that Clarke had talked. "Oh really? She has a funny way of showing it! Does feeling guilty involve making out with you now?"

"Hey! Back off! I really think you need to go now. You're Clarke's friend so I don’t want to hit you, but just keep going like this and I might!" Lexa snarled.

"Stop it, please! Both of you!" Clarke yelled and putting herself between the two girls.

Octavia glared at the both of them before turning around and spat, "Fucking unbelievable!"

Lexa's glare followed Clarke's friend until she was back inside the school. She was breathing heavily. Clarke had never seen her like this. After all, she had only known her for less than a week. She cringed at that thought.

"Lexa!"

"What?" Lexa snapped. The look of hurt Clarke's eyes were harboring immediately made her regret her outburst. "Clarke, I'm sorry. But she was disrespecting you. You can't let people treat you like that."

"No, _you_ can't treat my friends like that! You said so yourself, she was just looking out for her brother. Maybe there's a few things that she shouldn't have said. But you don't know her like I do. You only made things worse for me now!" Clarke was raising her voice.

Lexa couldn't believe that was happening. "I was trying to defend you! I did that for you!" she was yelling now too. She didn't care that every single person around them was staring at them, visibly enjoying the show.

Clarke noticed it too, but contrary to the stubborn brunette, she cared. "Listen, we're not gonna do this here. Thanks for the sandwich, but I really think you need to go now."

Lexa huffed and just stared at her in shock. She averted her gaze and grabbed her bag, leaving without a single word or glance at her _girlfriend_.

 

// 

 

When Clarke got out of school that day, she didn't walk straight to her car like she usually did. Instead, she headed toward the soccer field, where she knew she would catch Bellamy before his practice begun. Even though Octavia had said that he didn't come to school that day, she believed that he would never miss a soccer practice unless he was dying. No actually, he would never miss one even if he was _actually_ dying.

Clarke spotted brown and messy hair in the distance. Bellamy was seated on the front raw of the bleachers, lost in his thoughts. She quickly approached from the right and carefully greeted, "Hey."

He froze for a second before looking at her. A bitter laugh escaped from his throat. "I stay home all day just to avoid seeing you, and yet, here you are."

Clarke tried not to let that comment affect her, and failed. She hated seeing him like this. Octavia had been right all along, she should have been clear from the start. In fact, she shouldn't have dated him at all. He would have handled a rejection, but a broken heart?

"Can you please just hear me out?" Clarke pleaded as she sat next to him, careful to leave some space between them.

Bellamy kept his gaze locked on the ground and replied, "Do I really have a choice?"

"Of course you do. If you don't want to see me right now, I get it. Really, I do. But I'll keep trying to talk to you every day until you finally give in." Even if he wasn't looking at her, Clarke kept her eyes locked on his, hoping he would eventually make eye contact and see the pain in her eyes as well.

"I suppose I should just get it over with, then."

Clarke's heart sunk a little at that, but she wasn't giving up just yet. "Bellamy, you're my best friend. And I should have treated you as such from the beginning. These past four months weren't fair to you."

"So, what?" Bellamy finally raised his gaze and looked at her. Clarke was taken aback by the amount of pain she saw in his eyes. "You're saying that it's all been a lie and that you never liked me that way?"

"No, no! Not at all!" Clarke became aware that she wasn't making herself clear here, but she had some difficulty doing that lately. "What I'm trying to say is that, these past few months with you have been great. You know deep down that I liked you, sincerely. But just not the way you want me to. You know I care about you, I really do. And I'm really sorry that I hurt you. I was genuinely convinced that you and I could be more than best friends and-"

Bellamy immediately got up, cutting her off. "That's it? You're done? Because I don't really want to hear you repeat over and over again that you don't love me back. Because yes, Clarke. I told you that I _loved_ you. It's not just liking someone here. I was in _love_ with you. Hell, I still am despite what you've put me through. And I think that's the worst part of it. No matter what, I still…"

He couldn't continue, the pain becoming too much to take. Clarke didn't know what to say. She got up as well and stood still in front of him. Her eyes watering for the second time today, she hoped that the sincerity was clear in her voice when she said, "I'm sorry, Bellamy. You know how I feel. But you're my best friend. So I'll give you as much time as you need to get over me, because believe me, you will. You're a great guy and girls will line up in front of you just for you to take them out on a date. And when you're ready, I'll do anything to prove to you that I care about you. I hope you'll eventually find it in your heart to forgive me, Bellamy, because I don't want to lose you."

A single tear escaped her eyes and she turned around to leave. She could only hope that he saw how genuine she was about this, and how much she cared about him. She had fucked up, and she knew her little speech had been harsh for him, but she wasn't going to lie anymore. Not even for Lexa.

That's why, when she finally arrived at her house, she was ready to tell her parents everything as soon as they got home.

 _No more lies,_ she thought. It caused nothing but pain.

As much as Clarke didn't want to face Lexa right now, she knew that she had no other choice. She went to her bedroom, but surprisingly, she found no one inside. She went to check the bathroom but no one was here either.

"Lexa!" she called as she went downstairs. No one answered.

Now worried, the blonde pulled her phone out of her pocket to call Lexa. The brunette didn't answer, so Clarke left a message on her voice mail. She hoped Lexa would eventually figure out how it worked, since the blonde had only taught her how to text or call someone. "Lexa, it's me, Clarke. I don't know where you are and I'm kind of freaking out right now. When you get this message, please come home or at least call me back to let me know that you're okay."

Her choice of words hadn't gone unnoticed, she had said 'come home'. Because she truly felt like Clarke's house was Lexa's home now as well. In fact, as long as they were with each other, they were home.

After about twenty minutes of chewing her nails, Clarke heard the front door open. She had given her spare key to Lexa on Friday when she had returned from school, so it could either be her or the blonde's parents. Clarke let out a relieved sigh when she saw green eyes looking apologetically at her and she rushed to the brunette and grabbed her in a tight hug.

"Lexa! I'm so glad you're okay! Don't ever leave like that without warning again!"

"Clarke, just breathe, alright?" Lexa pulled away, a small smirk playing at her lips. "You do remember that I survived a nuclear apocalypse? What's the worst thing that could happen to me here?"

"It's just that… You don't know this world an-and…" Clarke's voice cracked at the last word.

Lexa cupped the blonde's cheeks and said in a reassuring voice," I'm okay. It's not the first time I've gone out on my own. I know how to handle myself."

Clarke sighed. "I know. I freaked out because this was the first time that I came home and you weren't here."

Clarke was amazed at how fast she had become so accustomed to the brunette's presence. Within less than a week, she had already become dependent on her.

Lexa furrowed her eyebrows. Clarke was clearly distressed, and the brunette doubted it was only because of her being gone. Concern evident in her voice, she asked, "Clarke, what's wrong? I know there's more than you're telling me."

"Nothing. It's just that with our argument earlier, I just thought you had… run off."

Lexa pulled Clarke in for a hug again. "You know I would never leave you like that. I promise." This time, Clarke was the one to pull away and Lexa stared in her blue eyes. "But I know there's more. Is it because of Octavia?"

Clarke broke the eye contact, looking at her feet instead. "I talked to Bellamy."

Lexa stiffened and asked, "How did it go?"

"What do you think?"

Lexa grabbed one of the blonde's hands in her own. "What did you say to him?"

"I tried to be honest for once. I told him how much I cared about him, but I also told him that I would never love him back. I tried to show him that I'd do anything to earn his forgiveness, and to have my best friend back." She felt Lexa squeeze her hand lightly and a sad smile appeared on her face. "I'll try to talk to Octavia tomorrow. I have to apologize to her as well."

Lexa instantly let go of her hand. "Why? She disrespected you. You shouldn't apologize to her."

"Lexa!"

"What?"

"I'm the one who broke her big brother's heart. I get that she's mad at me. She has every right to be." Clarke couldn't understand how Lexa couldn't see that. She didn't know why the brunette was so angry at her friend.

"Like I said earlier, I get that she wants to protect him. But saying nasty things to you won't protect him. She should be there for him instead of lashing out at you. I swear if she says one more thing like that to you I'll-"

"What? You'll what, Lexa?" She didn't wait for an answer, knowing that none would come. "You're not in your world anymore. Here, when people fight, it doesn't mean combat to death. It means that people get angry at each other and then sort it out, to try and forgive each other in order to move on. It's not even about respect here. I know Octavia didn't mean those things and she'll probably apologize to me too once she's calmed down."

"If she didn't mean those things, she shouldn't have said them!"

Clarke let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't even understand! Why are we fighting about this? Octavia is my friend and you should at least respect that. It's not even your business in the first place!"

Lexa's eyes became filled with hurt and the blonde immediately regretted her words. Not even four hours ago, Clarke had asked her to be her girlfriend – albeit accidentally - and now she couldn't even recognize the girl in front of her. This girl had no connection to the sweet and soft Lexa she had gotten to know this past week. This girl seemed cold and wore an expressionless face. Only her eyes gave away the hurt she felt.

Even though Clarke didn't want to hurt the brunette more than she already had, she knew that she was still doing so when she stated, with finality, "Maybe we rushed into this. After all, we've only known each other for less than a week." She paused, not bearing to look into sad green eyes anymore. "Maybe we should have taken the time to figure out how we feel about each other."

Lexa's heart broke on the spot. She tried as hard as she could to contain the tears that were threatening to fall. She only replied, her voice breaking a little more with every word she spoke. "I didn't even need a day to figure out how I felt about you."

And just like that, she left. She heard Clarke call after her, but she didn't want to see her anymore. Maybe the blonde was still hurting over her break up with Bellamy. Maybe they had rushed things, maybe Lexa should have given her the time to heal, because, even if Clarke only liked Bellamy as a friend, they had dated for four months. That wasn't nothing. Maybe they had made a mistake. But questioning her feelings? Lexa could not handle that. She knew how she felt about Clarke, and she had hoped deep down that Clarke felt the same. They had a special bond that would probably never go away. Lexa couldn't just stand there and hear the blonde doubting about her feelings. Because she hadn't had any doubts this time, not like with Costia. The brunette had lost too much time as the Commander, always locking up her feelings and keeping her mind focused on everyone but herself. That's why she had wanted to escape, to feel free and to feel like she mattered as a _being_. And Clarke had made her feel that, like she was a whole person, not just a leader, but a human with human _feelings_. That was the most beautiful feeling she had ever experienced. That's why it had hurt so much, to feel like she had been mistaken again, that she had been the only one to feel this way.

The brunette had no idea how long she'd been walking in the snowy streets of Boston. The cold air felt good against her skin, it was just about the only thing that reminded her she was alive, because she felt dead inside. She returned to the place where Clarke had appeared to her for the first time. She stood still in the middle of the street until she saw a car coming toward her and she went back to the sidewalk. She retraced her steps of the previous week, the first steps she had walked in this world. She had literally landed in a park, in the middle of the bushes. She stared at this spot for a long moment before going to sit on a nearby bench. She remained seated for another hour or so until she heard some noise behind her. She froze, because it came from the same bushes she had landed on, and the sound seemed awfully familiar.

A shadow came out of the bushes with a grunt and she discerned a man. A man that she knew all too well. Fear settled in her heart for the first time in a week. She whispered, "Titus?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo.... please don't kill me!  
> (just a little side note, I'd written this before 307, and I hated myself afterwards lol)  
> only 3 chapters to go before the end :(  
> come and find me on tumblr @commanderofcandles  
> please, leave me a few comments or kudos :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> clarke being scared af and raven being a (adorable) jerk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot about today's update guys! thank stars379 for reminding me! (tho yes, technically I still have 20min)  
> as always, a huge thank you to BrittzandTana for editing this!  
> so.... hope you enjoy!

Voice mail. _Again._ Clarke considered leaving another message, but an automatized voice announced, "Voice mail full."

She decided to try one more time.

_Come on, Lexa, come on. Pick up the damn phone!_

As Clarke expected, it went to voice mail again.

_How could I be so fucking stupid? How could I say those horrible things to her?_

Clarke knew how. She'd been so confused about everything, she was losing two of her best friends and she was the one to blame, she had met this incredible and gorgeous brunette that made her feel more alive that she had ever felt, and she was scared as fuck. So she just screwed up like she always screwed up every time there was too much pressure on her. All that had happened in less than a week and it was too much to take. The thought of losing both Octavia and Bellamy was scary enough, but the thought of losing Lexa because Clarke had said such terrible things that she didn't even mean was even more terrifying.

Clarke had already realized that she couldn't lose the brunette. She couldn't handle it. So when the said brunette had been gone for more than four hours, and wouldn't even pick up her damn phone, Clarke finally tried to get a hold of herself. She had stopped crying and was starting to think practically.

_Where could she be?_

The blonde doubted she would be at the school or one of the cafes they had been to during the past week. She assumed that Lexa would want to be someplace quiet, a place where she could isolate herself from the rest of the world, Clarke's world. The world that she was probably lost in, since she'd been there for just a week.

The only way to reach her turned out to be useless, and that thought made Clarke begin to freak out again. With no idea as to what to do, she called her best friend – at least, the one that wasn't mad at her.

Raven answered almost immediately and Clarke exclaimed, "Raven, oh my god I'm freaking out! Lexa's been missing for four hours now and I can't reach her! What do I do?"

"Gee, Clarke calm down! I can't make out a word you're saying. What's going on with Lexa?" Raven tried to calm her frantic best friend.

"Can we please meet somewhere in town? I need your help... but first, I need to tell you something." Clarke's voice was trembling, but she managed to speak in a somewhat comprehensible manner.

"Sure. Clarke, you're scaring me right now." Raven sounded worried now. "Meet me at the park near my house."

Clarke thanked her, because she knew it was getting late for a school night, and she hoped her friend wasn't going to get in trouble with her parents.

Clarke hurried outside, barely warning her parents that she was going to see Raven, and hopped into her car. She knew that she shouldn't be driving right now, because her hands were shaking and her eyes were still blurry from crying for hours. She couldn't care less though. She wanted to find Lexa, she _needed_ to talk to her. _Now._

Raven's house was ten minutes away from Clarke's and the park was just across the street from it. Clarke couldn't help but notice that the red light were she had almost run over Lexa a few days prior was just a minute away. That thought alone twisted the knife that was already in her heart and tears began falling freely from her eyes again.

_She promised she would never leave me. So where the fuck is she?_

She finally got to the park and parked her car in front of Raven's house. The brunette was waiting for her on a bench and as soon as she spotted the blonde, she waved her hand and got up. Clarke made her way toward her friend and started rambling again, "Raven, I'm so glad you're here! I don't know what to do, I have no fucking clue where she could be and-"

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her cheek as Raven slapped her across the face.

_Ouch!_

Clarke looked at her, raising her hand to her cheek. "Raven? What the fuck was that for?"

"First, stop saying 'fuck' all the fucking time, it just doesn't suit you. And second, you know how much I hate hysterical weirdos and you're being one right now." Raven paused and grabbed the blonde's shoulders. "Clarke, I love you, but you seriously need to chill the fuck out!"

"Now who's saying fuck all the time?"

Raven ignored the question and asked instead, concern showing on her face, "What's going on, Clarke? I've never seen you so freaked out."

"That's because I've never _been_ this freaked out!" Clarke didn't want to waste any more time by explaining in great length, so she simply said, "Long story short, Lexa and I got into a fight, I said nasty things that I didn't mean, and now I can't find her and I have no idea where she could be."

"That's it? You're just worried because your new girlfriend is mad at you?" Raven's face instantly relaxed and she was almost chuckling.

"Raven, this is serious shit! You didn't see the look on her face when she left. I'm worried she's gonna do something stupid."

_What if she went back to her world? She said she wouldn't be able to go back here!_

Clarke tried not to let that thought get to her, and focused on her sarcastic friend instead. "Like what? Go shopping?"

"Okay, now you're being an ass," Clarke scowled.

"Sorry," Raven said, even though she clearly wasn't.

"Look, you don't know the whole story. I think it's time I tell you the truth. It's time that I tell everyone the truth actually."

"The truth about what?" Raven asked, curious.

"About how she and I met... the truth about Lexa," Clarke clarified slightly.

So the blonde talked, and talked, and talked, without ever stopping. She was surprised that her sassy friend didn't interrupt her. Raven's gaze was locked with hers, not hinting anything about whether or not she believed her. Clarke didn't leave anything out – except for the 'private stuff' that she and Lexa had done, obviously. She even told her that although she felt bad for Bellamy, she hadn't been able to find it in her heart to push the brunette away.

The blonde just finished her tale with a simple, "It's like we were fucking meant to be!" She then finally took the time to breathe and tried to gauge Raven's emotionless expression.

"I knew you were cheesy as fuck when it comes to love, but it's getting out of control. And stop saying fuck all of the damn time!"

"You know I tend to curse a lot when I worry and now I'm worried as fuck!"

Raven palmed herself in the face and then tried to glare at her friend, "I swear I'm gonna slap you in the face again. And this time, I won't hold back!"

Clarke then realized something and asked quietly, "Wait… Who said anything about love?"

Raven threw her an 'are you kidding me' look and replied, "Uh, _you_! For the past ten minutes I've been listening to you talk about how amazing Lexa is. It's pretty obvious that you don't just like her, you _love_ her."

_What?_

Clarke then did a double take. "Wait…"

"What now?" Raven asked exasperated.

"I just told you a fuck-" Clarke paused when she saw Raven raising her hand threateningly. "uh, a really incredible story about how it was possible to travel between worlds, and all you care about is how mushy I get about Lexa?"

Lexa!

_We've wasted enough time! We need to find her now!_

"That's because… I never told you this, but I did a lot of research last year about some stuff like that. Some randoms were claiming to be from different worlds. They were judged as mentally disabled and sent to an asylum. But one day, a group of five people were found almost freezing to death in a mountain and they all said the same thing. They came from another world and had wanted to flee from a war that was threatening their people. They had managed to escape from a prison camp and found their way to another world, ours. Psychiatrists and even some scientists took interest in the case and were puzzled as to how five people would have the exact same delirium, especially when it was realized that their names weren't in any records."

Clarke was suddenly very intrigued. "What happened to them?"

"Same as others. They were locked up for their 'own good', even if they didn't seem dangerous. I started to believe that it wasn't some random case about crazy weirdos, and that maybe they were telling the truth. Theories popped up about how it would actually make sense that other worlds exist, but it was shrugged off as impossible. If it were true, it would actually shake up everything we know."

"So you believe it is true, then? That Lexa does come from another world?"

"I convinced myself that it was just nonsense, but if you believe her, so do I. I trust your judgment, Clarke."

Clarke had never seen Raven so sure about anything before. "So you'll help me find her?"

"Of course, I'll help you." Raven looked determined. Clarke could only hope determination would be enough to find Lexa. She tried to gather her thoughts again and looked at her surroundings. She often came to this park when she hung out with Raven, and she'd come to know it pretty well. Every tree, the bushes even. That's why the trampled bushes and the mud next to it instantly caught her attention. She quickly approached the said bushes and crouched down. She instantly knew that Lexa had been here; because it wasn't mud, it was blood, black blood. Lexa's blood.

Her own blood ran cold and she called Raven, her voice cracking when she explained to her friend, who was now standing next to her, that Lexa's blood was black. Raven froze and her eyes widened.

"Now you understand why she needs our help?"

 

//

 

Lexa almost howled in pain when she woke up. She felt a sharp pain in her left arm and tried to reach out with her right hand, only to have it brutally stopped. She was chained. She scanned her surroundings and, as a well-trained warrior, tried to find a way to set herself free. She was in a small room, filled with dust and filth. She supposed it was abandoned, the perfect place for whoever took her to keep her.

Lexa narrowed her eyes as she searched through her memory. The last thing she remembered was that she had stood heartbroken in that park for hours after her fight with Clarke.

Clarke.

_I need to see her._

Then, she remembered something else – or rather someone - and her eyes widened in fear.

Titus.

He had found her. He had found a way to travel between worlds and had landed on _this_ very particular world. What were the odds? It seemed like fate had always something bad up its sleeve for Lexa.

She had to escape. If she stayed here, she'd-

"I see that you're finally awake, _Heda_."

"Titus. My faithful adviser one day, the man who hunts me down to kill me the next." She had very well heard the sarcasm in Titus's voice, and she knew exactly why he was here.

"You know very well that we couldn't let you escape, _Heda_. Your little escapade put the all the Clans in danger. The coalition needs a leader, it needs _a Heda_. And if you stay alive, there will be no one to lead us." Lexa had been right. Titus _was_ here to kill her.

She felt the urge to ask, "How did you find me? How did you know I was in this world and, more importantly, how did you manage to get here?"

"Most people in our world don't believe in other worlds. They think it's just a myth, but I knew better. I found your not-so-secret stash in your bedroom, Lexa. I knew you were planning to leave, I just didn't know where. But you had all these books from this world, and I knew you wanted to come here. You took me by surprise by attacking your own bodyguards. I tracked down the shaman that brought you here, and she told me everything. I ordered her to take us both here so that I could go back with you, but she betrayed me."

"What a surprise," Lexa said sarcastically.

Titus stomped over her and grabbed her already injured left arm. "I'm the one in charge now, Lexa, so I'd suggest you try and be a little less arrogant. You have no idea how much anger towards you I have contained for years. All that anger is now _begging_ to come out."

Lexa spat at his feet with a defiant stare and snapped, bitter. "You're stuck in this world now, Titus. And you can't kill me here, because you don't know if my spirit is able to travel between worlds. So I guess your anger will have to wait a little longer, perhaps forever, if you don't find a way back to Polis."

Titus's face became pale, as if Lexa had just reminded him of that fact. After a while though, his gaze became vicious again and met Lexa's defiant one. "I might not be able to kill you just yet, but there's other ways to satisfy the hate you inspire within me. I promise you will beg me to end your life when I'm done with you."

 

//

 

"Have you considered the fact that she might have gone back to her world on her own?"

Raven and Clarke were in Raven's bedroom, looking at Raven's computer screen as the latter was trying to find any information they could about world traveling. Most of the websites they had found so far had been created by conspiracy theorists who claimed that the country was in fact governed by aliens that came from an alternative reality. Nothing about a post nuclear apocalyptic world.

"Yes, at first that's what I thought but Raven, did you see that blood? Something's happened to her. Something terrible. Stop wasting time and focus on finding something, anything that will help us find her!"

Raven didn't reply and went back to her research before she suggested carefully, "You know, we'd be more efficient if we had help."

"From who?" Clarke wondered. "I'm already lucky that you believed me, but other people might be hard to convince."

"Not Jasper and Monty. When you talk about crazy stuff to crazy people, they actually believe you."

Clarke considered this for a moment. "You know what? You might be right."

"Of course I'm right. I always am." Raven smirked, proud of herself.

"Quit showing off and get back to work while I call them." Despite Clarke's calm appearance, her thoughts were one freaking giant mess. While part of herself felt guilty for being the reason Lexa had left her house in the first place, telling her to cry her eyes out, the other part was just so fucking pissed at everyone that she feared it would actually cause her mind to explode.

She FaceTimed both her friends at once and they picked up instantly. "What's up, Clarke?" Came Jasper's voice through the speaker of her phone.

"I seriously need your help, guys. Like right now." She knew they would accept.

"Of course, but what's going on? Are you okay?" Monty butted in.

"No, I'm not actually. But that's not the point. Lexa is in danger and she needs our help. She's been missing for a while now and Raven and I don't know how to find her. But before you say anything, there's something you need to know about her," Clarke exposed.

While Clarke explained everything to the two boys, Raven kept scrolling through the Internet, hoping to find something that would make sense. The gears in her mind were racing faster than ever and she came up with a theory.

"Wow! That's some crazy stuff, Clarke," she heard Jasper say.

"Yeah, but that's so cool though!" Monty added.

"Hey, Clarke," Raven called the blonde. "I think I got a lead."

Clarke stood next to her in a matter of second, setting her phone on Raven's desk so that everyone could see everyone.

"Hey, Rae," Jasper greeted as Monty waved.

"Hey, guys." Raven turned to face Clarke. "You said that she couldn't go back to her world unless she found some sort of shaman, right?"

"Yes, that's what she told me." Clarke furrowed her eyebrows, not seeing where the brunette was going with this.

"And she said she appeared just about five minutes before you almost ran over her?"

"Yes, she did." Clarke crossed her arms over her chest. "Raven, where are you going with this exactly?"

"I just think that she might have landed in the same bushes we found her blood next to. That would make sense, she went back here because she couldn't go back to your house. And maybe somebody from her world actually showed up too. Someone that would have been skilled enough to harm a bad ass commander or whatever she is. But they're stuck here until they find a shaman." Raven waited for Clarke's reaction. She didn't wait for much time though as she saw the blonde's face lit up.

"So that would mean that she's still in our world and that we have a chance to prevent whoever took her from finding a way back to their world!"

"Exactly!"

"Clarke, does Lexa have a phone?" Monty asked, catching the blonde's attention.

"Yes, she does, but she won't answer." Clarke replied, feeling defeated as she thought back to the automatized voice again 'Voice mail full' and to the dozens of text she had sent the brunette that remained unanswered.

"Do you think it's still on?" Monty wondered, not picking up on Clarke's drop in mood.

"I think so. It rings at least, it doesn't go straight to voice mail." Clarke's face was puzzled.

"Then I can use her cellphone to track her down. If it's still on, it will tell us where she is." She saw Monty scrolling through his computer and she would have given him a tight hug had he been there.

"Monty, you're a genius!" Clarke exclaimed, suddenly regaining hope.

He chuckled a little and said, "I just need her phone number."

Clarke gave it to him and two long minutes went by before Jasper yelled, startling them all. "I got it!"

"What?" Monty asked, stunned. "How did you get her location before I did?"

"Guys, there's no time for that. Just tell me where she is!" Clarke urged.

"She's not too far from your house, Raven. Just two blocks away actually."

Raven suddenly caught up. "574 Atlantic Avenue?"

Clarke was impressed and so were the two nerds on FaceTime. "How did you know that?" Jasper asked.

"It's an abandoned house." She turned to Clarke. "Remember we were always trying to get inside when we were little, because it was supposed to be haunted, but Octavia would always chicken out?"

"Yeah, I do! It's a perfect spot to hold someone hostage," she replied as chills ran down her spine at the thought of Lexa scared and alone with her abductor. Even though Lexa seemed fearless, the blonde knew that whoever took her was someone she must fear.

"Guys, we'll need back up on this one," Jasper stated.

Clarke knew he was right. She turned to Raven. "You think Octavia would actually go through with it and follow us inside this time?"

Raven smirked. "Only one way to find out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only 2 chapters left, sniff  
> hope you liked it and that you don't hate me too much!  
> see you guys tomorrow! have a great day/night, and don't forget to comment and/or leave kudos!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rescue team for tiny gay (badass) racoon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!  
> sorry I'm updating this late (though it's not really late for most of you), I have evening classes, and lots of (stu)dying to do (going back to it now actually).  
> hope you like this chapter and that it makes up for the previous ones ^^  
> Enjoy!

"Okay, remind me why we're here again? In front of this creepy house at like eleven pm on a school night?" Octavia huffed, not even interested, simply bored and tired because she just wanted to go to bed.

"To rescue Lexa," Clarke finally announced.

"What?" Bellamy was stunned. How could she have the nerve to ask him something like that? He had come because Raven said it was a life or death situation, but he definitely wasn't expecting it to be about Lexa. Even if she wasn't the main reason he and Clarke had broken up, he was still livid at the thought of the blonde kissing that girl who she barely knew.

Clarke ignored him and looked at all of her friends one by one. "Look guys, I know you don't really know her, but you know me. You trust me, don't you?"

Jasper, Monty and Raven nodded while Bellamy, his sister and Lincoln stood still. "Why would I trust you anymore?" Bellamy asked, even though he knew not to expect any answer from the blonde.

"What's going on?" Octavia asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

"Lexa's in the-"

"I was talking to Raven." Octavia glared at the blonde.

Raven replied, embarrassed. "Listen, you both know she wouldn't ask you guys for help if it wasn't important. Just hear her out, okay? Then you can decide whether or not you want to help."

Octavia nodded begrudgingly and Clarke explained, "Lexa is in there, with someone who's probably very dangerous. We need to get in and get her out, otherwise she'll probably end up…" Clarke gulped, refusing to say the word that would make everything so much more real.

"Dead. She'll end up dead if we don't help her," Lincoln finished for his friend.

Octavia stared intensely at Clarke while her brother was already making his way back to their car, grunting and muttering that they were all crazy. She quickly made her decision and called after him, "Bell, wait!"

He faced her and snapped, "What?" He knew what she was about to say, so he beat her to it. "You want to help her, fine. But why would _I_ help her?"

"Because you wouldn't be doing it for her." Bellamy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Octavia took his hands in hers. "You'd be doing it to save someone's life. Forget the past week for a minute and ask yourself if you trust us, your best friends." She knew what Bellamy would have likely answered: 'With my life'. She persisted, "Do you really want to stay out of this when you could have helped save a life? Because I sure as hell don't!"

Bellamy didn't look away as he muttered, "This is so messed up…"

Monty decided to help Octavia convince her brother. "Yes, it is. But it's the truth. Someone here needs our help. And no matter how you feel about her, how pissed you are at Clarke, it doesn't change the fact that you're a good guy. I trust you'll do the right thing." The boy put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly and Bellamy looked at him.

"Okay." Clarke let out a relieved sigh at hearing his answer. "Okay, I'll help." He looked at Clarke, a determined look on his face. "What do you want us to do, Clarke?"

 

//

 

Lexa's head was still painfully throbbing as she woke up again, still chained and at the mercy of her former adviser, the man she had trusted with her life before, and who now wanted to take it away from her, just as she was finally beginning to really appreciate it. She looked at her surroundings and was relieved to find that Titus wasn't in the room. She could finally find a way to escape from this hell.

She was now sitting on a chair that looked to be planted firmly into the ground, her feet tied to it. Her only hope was to find a way to break free from her chains, which was unlikely. The brunette didn't give up just yet though, and as quietly as possible, she tried to scrub her chains against the metal chair. They looked fragile enough, but it would take hours before they would wear down and she didn't know exactly how much time she had. She needed to think of something else, _fast_. She spotted what looked like a crowbar on a desk and memories came flooding back to her. Horrible and terrifying memories. Where Titus had used that same crowbar to torture her instead of looking for a shaman. She was so mad at herself for not seeing how deranged this man was before.

She could still see the blood – _her_ blood – on the tool. Chills running down her spine, she tried to reach as far as her right arm, the uninjured one, would let her. She almost had it, a few more millimeters and she'd have it.

_Come on, Lexa. It's not that hard to grab a fucking crowbar!_

She grunted and extended her fingers as far as she could. She internally thanked the gods when she felt the cold metal under her touch. She quickly managed to grab the top of the tool and put it in her hand. It was heavy. Good. She needed it to be in order to get herself free from this psycho.

She suddenly heard footsteps that seemed to be coming closer and closer to the room and she froze for a nanosecond. It was too late to be quiet, so she pulled as hard as she could to try and break the stupid chains. It didn't work, so she tried one more time, and another time, before the door finally opened and hit the wall with a loud thud. Titus took in the sight in front of him and anger made his blood boil in his veins.

He grunted and moved a few steps closer to her. "Put that down, Lexa. Before you hurt yourself."

Lexa started defiantly at him again. "I'm not the one that will end up being hurt. Not this time."

He stepped closer to her, confident, and she used that confidence against him. He raised his left arm to try and stop the punch she feigned to throw at him with the crowbar and she then took advantage of the distraction she had created to hit him with her left arm, the injured one. She cried in pain, but so did he. The hurt threw him off balance and, in one swift motion, she hit his head with the crowbar and he fell abruptly to the floor.

Lexa was breathing heavily, still stunned that he had realistically thought he could kick the Commander's ass. The pain she felt in her left arm pulled her back in the reality of the situation she was in. She didn't think it was broken, but Titus had smashed it hard after it had already received a deep cut, from which blood was still dripping. It would definitely need some time to completely heal.

Lexa tried to break her chains again before Titus would wake up, but froze when she heard footsteps again. From many people apparently. Had the bastard found minions to help him?

 

//

 

"Fuck, Bellamy for once in your life be quiet!" Octavia let out an exasperated puff as she whispered to her brother.

"Sorry… I didn't see that table there."

"Well pay some fucking attention next time!" Raven sided with Octavia.

"Guys! Snap out of it!" Clarke butted in.

Assuming that they hadn't been already, she hoped they wouldn't be detected until they had gotten Lexa out of this hellhole. Bellamy and Octavia's bantering was obviously not helping.

They separated into three groups and each group explored a particular room. After doing so, they found that nobody was downstairs and Bellamy motioned for everyone to follow him upstairs.

Still as quiet as a bunch of teenagers could be, they reached the top of the stairs and saw three different rooms.

Bellamy and Octavia went into the room on the left while Raven, Jasper and Monty went to the one on the right. Lincoln and Clarke went straight ahead, but didn't find anything. Clarke heard Octavia gasp in the other room and she hurried to join them. She stopped on the doorstep and took in the scene that was displayed in front of her. Lexa was standing there, chained and visibly terrified though she still managed to look threatening with what looked like a crowbar clenched in her hand. The brunette let out a relieved sigh when she saw Clarke and immediately dropped her improvised weapon.

Clarke noticed Bellamy crouching down next to some man who seemed in his middle fifties. Once it was confirmed that he was unconscious and Bellamy had the situation under control, Clarke hurried at Lexa's side. She heard Octavia call for the others while she examined the brunette to make sure she was okay. She wasn't though, and Clarke's anger built up when she realized that she had blood on her face and hands, which seemed to come from a nasty wound on her left arm. She had bruises on her face and legs as well and it took Clarke all of her willpower not to beat the shit out of the unconscious bald man.

Lexa seemed to notice her internal fight and she took the blonde's hands in hers. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. You need to set me free, though, so we can get the hell out of here."

The blonde nodded while she tried to break Lexa's chains and the brunette turned to look at the others. All of Clarke's closest friends were here, and everyone seemed terrified and clueless as to what had happened here. They would want an explanation, and Lexa thought that they fully deserved it.

Octavia flashed the brunette a questioning glance. "Why is your blood fucking black?"

Of course, the interrogation was already coming, but all Lexa wanted in this moment was to get out. "Can't the explanations wait until we're out of here?"

Octavia immediately softened and went to help Clarke. "Of course. Sorry."

Bellamy's head perked up and he asked, "What are we going to do with him? Should we call the police?"

"No!" Lexa argued. "You can't do that!"

"What do you want us to do, then? Just keep him in here forever?" Bellamy was puzzled.

Clarke and Octavia finally managed to break Lexa from her chains and the blonde said, "Lexa, you know it's the only way. We'll just give an anonymous call with his location and they'll arrest him."

"For what?" Lincoln asked. "If it's anonymous and Lexa doesn't testify that he kidnapped her, they won't charge him with anything but breaking and entering and soon he'll be free to go. This bastard needs to be locked up."

The blonde hadn't thought of that. They needed to think of something fast, before he woke up.

"I know what to do." Lexa looked at the four guys in the room. "But I'll need your help."

"What are you gonna do?" Clarke asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Lexa just stared at her. "Do you trust me?"

"With my life," Clarke replied without even a second of hesitation.

Bellamy stiffened but didn't say anything, only did as he was told when Lexa explained they needed to carry him out to the park. The bastard turned out to be pretty heavy but they got him exactly where Lexa wanted just as he began to stir.

He grunted and opened his eyes, immediately focusing on Lexa. "Titus, I told you not to pick a fight against me. You didn't stand a chance."

"Why am I still alive, Lexa?"

"Because I'm not gonna stain my hands with your blood," she stated simply, her words colder than they had ever been.

Raven stepped in. "My house is literally just over here. My parents could wake up any minute and see us. So could the neighbors. Whatever you want to do, do it fast."

Titus grunted and made a move to stand up. Lincoln didn't hesitate before punching him in the face, knocking him out again.

Lexa ordered them to all go into Raven's house and stay there until she came back.

Clarke immediately protested, "I'm not leaving you."

"Yes, you are. I need to know you will be safe."

"And _I_ need to know that _you_ will be safe," Clarke insisted, standing her ground. Lexa gave the blonde a half-smile. She usually found her stubbornness pretty attractive but now, she needed Clarke listen to her just for once. Before she could say anything though, Clarke added, "I won't leave until he's somehow gone."

"Fine. But if something goes wrong, you'll have to go straight back to Raven's house and never look back, okay?"

Clarke didn't have time to respond because Raven said, "I'm not leaving either. If you're going to do something dangerous, we'll protect you."

Everyone else agreed with Raven, even Octavia and Bellamy, and Lexa felt tears welling in her eyes. They had no idea what was about to happen and they had already risked their lives to save her tonight, but they still wouldn't leave her. They had only met her once, briefly at a party, but they were protecting her. Because they cared. Nobody had ever done that. She had always been protected because she was a Nightblood, and then because she _became Heda_ , but never because people actually cared _about her_ , Lexa.

"Then, you need to stand back and let me do what I'm about to do. You'll have to stay quiet and never interfere, even if I start screaming, okay?"

When she gave an order, everyone listened, because she was the Commander. But here, she was just a girl with crazy shit happening to her, but they still listened and did as they were told. Everyone except Clarke, of course, who was standing next to her, taking her hand into her own and squeezing it tightly. That simple gesture gave Lexa the strength she needed to forget the pain in her arm. She let herself realize for a moment that she'd gotten it all wrong, love wasn't weakness. It was strength. That thought brought a half smile to her face as she started chanting in her native tongue.

What seemed like a portal appeared in front of them and everyone but Lexa gasped, mouth agape. Lexa kept going until she let go of Clarke's hand and pushed Titus in the portal. Since he was still unconscious, she struggled to do so, and Clarke and her friends all came to her rescue, making it easy to send him through the portal.

That's when Clarke's surprised vanished to quickly be replaced with fear. Lexa knelt, crying in pain, but she kept chanting weird things that nobody understood except the brunette. She tried to reach out but Bellamy stopped her, an arm around her waist. "Clarke, stop! She said to let her get through it."

"She's in pain! She needs help," Clarke argued.

"What she needs is to close that portal, which she won't be able to do if you interfere," Octavia added.

After a few seconds, everything went silent. The light of the portal vanished, Titus with it, and Lexa collapsed on the floor, exhausted. Bellamy let go of Clarke and she crouched down next to Lexa. She was still conscious, her breathing uneven and heavy, and Clarke asked her friends to help her carry her to her house.

"Wait. We can go to my house. My parents aren't there, so no one will be home except for us," Lincoln offered.

Clarke flashed him a grateful smile and they all made their way to Lincoln's house. By the time they got there, Lexa had fallen asleep and Lincoln laid her on his bed. Clarke put some blankets to cover her small and vulnerable sleeping form and exited the room. She found Bellamy leaning on the wall, waiting for her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied weakly.

"So… I have no clue as to what happened tonight, but that was a hell of an adventure."

Clarke chuckled. "Yeah, it was. I'm glad it's over, though."

"Me too."

There was an awkward silence before Bellamy cleared his throat. "I, um, wanted to apologize." Clarke flashed him a questioning look before he continued, "For not trusting you earlier. I should have known you wouldn't have told Raven to call me if it wasn't really important. I was just so mad, I didn't even realize I was being a dick."

"You stayed here to help, didn't you?" Clarke smiled a little at him.

Bellamy didn't respond and just stared. Clarke turned to go before freezing when she heard him say, "It's gonna take a while, you know? Before we can be friends again. But I'll make sure we will. I'm not saying I'm not still mad at you for kissing her and leading me on, because I am. A lot. But I know that eventually, I'll end up forgiving you. Because we've been through so much together, and there's no way I'll survive in this world without my best friend."

Clarke wanted to pull him in a tight hug but thought against, knowing it was too soon. Like Bellamy had said, it would take time. But now, she was confident that they would manage to get through this. She thanked him, her voice filled with all the emotions she had felt tonight and went downstairs before she would start to cry. On her way to the living room, she found the other Blake sibling and smiled.

"Clarke, I was looking for you," Octavia started. "I wanted to apologize, about the nasty things I said about you the other day. I was angry, I didn't mean any of it. I know that you know this, but I wanted to apologize anyway."

Clarke's smile grew even wider. "Wow! Both Blake siblings apologizing in less than five minutes. That's not something you get to see every day."

"Go ahead and laugh. But you know you'd be lost without us." Octavia smirked, putting an arm around the blonde's shoulders and making her way to the living room, Clarke next to her.

"You're probably, right." Octavia glanced at her, eyes widened in shock. "I'll always deny I ever said that."

Octavia laughed and they went to talk to everyone else. Clarke wouldn't stop smiling. The people who mattered the most to her were safe. Lexa was safe and sound asleep upstairs and all of her best friends were here with her. Things were looking quite good for Clarke now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, only one chapter to go... so sad the end is so soon :(  
> hope you enjoyed!  
> please, leave comments or kudos, they really do make my day  
> have a great day/night!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end my friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone!  
> last update for this story :(  
> This was the 1st clexa story I'd ever written, and it was so important to me you guys can't imagine  
> thank y'all for reading and leaving kudos and comments  
> I love you guys  
> Now enjoy!

Two weeks had gone by since that night - since Titus had finally been sent back to his world and Lexa had been freed.

_"What makes you think he won't be back with more people?" Clarke asked._

_"He failed in his mission. He was probably too proud and stubborn to tell anyone how to get to this world; he wanted to kill me himself. So when he returns, people will probably blame him for my disappearance and go after him. He'll likely end up dead within a day," Lexa explained._

_"How can you be so sure about that?" Clarke persisted._

_Lexa turned to stare at her intently. "They were my people, Clarke. I know their ways, because they used to be my ways, too."_

_Clarke remained silent for a minute, slightly biting her tongue until she couldn't hold back her question anymore. "How come you never told me you knew how to get back to your world?"_

_"Because I never felt the need to go back," Lexa said quietly. "I only made sure to learn how to travel between worlds in case of anything going wrong."_

Lincoln had offered to let Lexa stay at his home, because his parents were almost never home and when they were, they didn't mind if Lexa was there. They didn't know the truth about her, so it made sense that they wouldn't care.

Octavia and Clarke were the best of friends again, and Bellamy was slowly starting to talk to the blonde again.

After witnessing the portal that had sent Titus back to his home with their own eyes, everyone had had no choice but to believe Lexa. The brunette had told them everything, the entire truth. Raven, Jasper and Monty had been harassing her with scientific questions, whereas Octavia had seemed eager to know more about this mysterious, ruthless world.

As for Clarke and Lexa, they hadn't really talked about their relationship since that night. They had seen and texted each other a lot, but neither one of them wanted to take the first step. Lexa because she was still hurting from Clarke's words that night, and Clarke because she was still unsure as to how she would make it up to the brunette.

Now, it was Friday night and everyone was hanging out at Lincoln's house, because it was yet again empty and none of them felt like being alone. They all talked and laughed, but Lexa quickly noticed that Clarke was a bit apart from the group. She had caught the blonde glancing at her several times already. Lexa figured she was probably waiting to talk to her alone, and so she excused herself to the bathroom. She started down the hallway, but stopped in front of the guest room – her room – and leaned against the door. Her lips curved slightly upwards when she spotted blonde hair not even twenty seconds later, approaching her carefully.

"Hey," Lexa greeted.

"Hey," Clarke shifted awkwardly and motioned for the bathroom in the hallway. "Weren't you going to the bathroom?"

"Actually, no. I just saw you looking at me and I figured you wanted to talk," Lexa admitted.

Clarke blushed furiously and her heart fluttered. In the short amount of time they had known each other, the brunette had quickly obtained the ability to see right through her, as if she was an open book. Clarke couldn't hide anything from her, except maybe the most important thing, her feelings for her, which she knew the brunette still doubted. She had no reason to believe that they were real, after what Clarke had said and still hadn't apologized for. But she was about to do just that, if only she could find the right words. Nothing felt right though, Clarke thought that no words would be enough to show Lexa how truly sorry she was about having doubted her feelings for her.

The blonde stalled, "It seems that Jasper finally got over Octavia. He's head over heels for you now." Clarke smiled but added a quiet, "I can't really blame him but still… he needs to find someone else."

Lexa smirked. This was her chance. "Oh yeah? Why? Am I not good enough for him?" She teased. She knew what Clarke was implying, but she wanted to hear her say it.

Clarke only gave her a pointed look and finally managed to get the words out. "I'm sorry."

Lexa knew what she was referring to. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have judged Octavia so fast. It seems like you were right, she's a great friend to you."

"Yeah, she is." Clarke easily accepted the brunette's apology and added, "I'm really sorry about what I said. About us going too fast." Lexa crossed her arms over her chest. "I've always known how I felt about you, it just felt like everything was going wrong and I wanted to take the time to make sure _we_ weren't. And I screwed up."

Lexa nodded that she understood but didn't move, instead asking, "And how exactly do you feel about me?"

"You know how I feel about you."

Lexa's green eyes kept staring into blue ones. "No, I don't. Not after two weeks of pretending to be just friends." Lexa broke the eye contact and sighed. "Listen, I'm incredibly grateful. Without you, I'd probably be dead right now. You stood by me when things were starting to get dangerous. You gave me strength. I just don't know what you want anymore." Lexa's eyes locked with Clarke's once again.

"You know what's funny? Before you got here, everyone kept telling me how perfect my life was." Lexa furrowed her eyebrows, wondering where the blonde was going with this. "Except, I didn't feel like it was. And ever since you got here, I've gotten into so much trouble. And yet, you still manage to make me feel like this time my life is truly perfect." Clarke took a step closer to the brunette, who still didn't move and just kept staring at her intently. "I want _you_ , Lexa. Because you make me happy, and because you literally make everything worth it." She took another step closer and Lexa lowered her arms. Clarke took the brunette's hands in her own. "I love you, Lexa."

Lexa stared at her with watery eyes and then joined their lips in a passionate kiss. She poured all her heart into it, making sure the blonde understood how much she meant to her as well, and that she forgave her. When the need for air became too much to handle, Lexa pulled away, stroking the blonde's cheek, and softly declared, "I love you, too."

Clarke leaned in and kissed her again. It was soft and gentle, and only lasted a few seconds before Clarke pulled away and rested their foreheads together. Their gazes locked and they just smiled at each other.

"Oh please, give me a break with the eye-fucking." Raven pulled them out of their daze. "Some people actually need to use the bathroom."

Clarke and Lexa just laughed and stepped away, allowing Raven to reach the bathroom. When she didn't move, though, Clarke raised a questioning eyebrow at her friend.

"You know, I'm really glad you finally made up. It was becoming unbearable to see you throwing desperate, loving glances at each other while you thought the other wasn't looking. I was about to punch you both in the face," Raven deadpanned.

Clarke feigned shock while Lexa just laughed. The blonde took Lexa's hand and lead her to the living room, where all her friends expect Raven were still talking. Once she spotted Bellamy looking at them though, Clarke immediately let go of Lexa's hand, because despite all of his efforts to be friends with her again, she knew he was far from ready to accept this. And she completely understood that. Lexa did too, obviously, because during the rest of the afternoon spent with everyone, she remained a bit apart from the blonde. It wasn't until Lexa was back at Clarke's house that she took the blonde's hand again to pull her onto her lap, both of them now sitting on the sofa – while technically, Clarke was sitting on Lexa.

They talked, and kissed every now and then, until Abby came home, surprisingly early for once. She feigned surprise at finding her daughter curled up on the sofa with the brunette. "Oh, Lexa's here."

Clarke quickly pulled away from the brunette and got up of the sofa, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Mom, I didn't know you were coming home this early."

"Obviously." Abby smirked.

Lexa got up as well and glanced at Clarke, then at Abby, and then at Clarke again before saying quietly, "Um, I think I better go."

Clarke immediately turned to look at her and protested, "No! Stay."

Abby turned to Lexa as well and smiled. "Yes, Lexa, you're welcome to stay here if you want."

Lexa nodded and thanked Clarke's mom before Clarke suggested that they'd go in her room.

"Okay, but keep the door open!" Abby called as they already were in the stairs.

Lexa saw Clarke roll her eyes and she smiled. She envied the relationship Clarke had with her parents. She wished she could have known that too. She was pulled away from her thoughts, deciding to let go of the past, as Abby added in a loud voice, "Oh, and you can stay for dinner if you want! I'll order Chinese."

Lexa agreed and thanked Abby again. As they were soon curled up once again in Clarke's bed, the brunette playing with the blonde's hair, Lexa said, "I really like your parents, Clarke. They're really nice and chill about everything."

Clarke scowled a bit. "Yeah, they are. When they're not paranoid about you, they're great."

Lexa chuckled. They remained silent for a bit, just enjoying the peace and quiet for once. Lexa stopped playing with Clarke's hair and said, "You know, I've always wanted to learn to play the viola." Clarke turned to look her in the eye. "I even remember sending some scouts looking for one in some old bunkers that had escaped the destruction, but we never found one."

"Well, I have one. I could teach you if you'd like?"

"Really?" Lexa smiled sweetly. "That'd be awesome."

After an hour or so of Clarke laughing at how cute Lexa was in her struggle to correctly hold the bow, Lexa suddenly declared that she was sick of it and pouted.

"Oh, you're so cute when you pout," Clarke teased and Lexa just rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. "Has the Great Commander found one thing she's not good at?"

Lexa smirked and made her way to her, putting both her arms around the blonde's waist. "I was thinking of doing something more… fun, maybe? Something you told me multiple times that I'm good at?"

The blonde pecked her girl on the lips, but then reminded her, "I'd rather not, considering the last time we tried when my parents were downstairs."

Lexa pouted again, because she had missed Clarke in those two weeks they'd gone without touching each other, but didn't protest further. Clarke had missed the contact just as much, and to try and distract herself from the thought the brunette had put into her mind, she claimed she had homework to do.

About half an hour later, she was done and her mom called them downstairs for dinner. The dinner was friendly, her parents really tried to include the brunette in the family conversations and Lexa was glad. She felt like she had found a family, at last. Even though she was now staying at Lincoln's house, this place felt more like home than any other place Lexa had known. She felt like Clarke was her home now.

 

//

 

"Bell, as much as I love you, get the fuck outta here!" Clarke heard Octavia growl as she and Lexa arrived at the Blakes' house for yet another party.

A week had gone by since Clarke and Lexa had finally confessed their feelings to each other, and they were over the moon. Obviously, there were still things that needed to be sort out, such as explaining to Clarke's parents that Lexa would never find where she came from and why there wasn't any record of her in any database. But they would worry about that another day. Lexa was here to stay, so they had plenty of time.

"I'll get the fuck out of here when I'm sure you and Lincoln aren't doing… anything," Bellamy retorted, voice as calm as he could.

"Hey Bell," Clarke greeted. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Clarke. Hey, Lexa," Bellamy greeted both of them. He and Lexa had finally put some of their grudges aside and were actually making an effort to get to know each other. There was still some work to do, but they were slowly getting somewhere.

"Lincoln and Octavia are in there?" Lexa asked, quirking up an eyebrow. Bellamy nodded his head, clearly irritated. There were better places to make out than your big brother's bedroom.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Octavia, Lincoln, Wick and Raven got out and circled Bellamy, screaming. "Happy early birthday!"

Bellamy smiled and looked at them fondly. "I wasn't expecting that. Thank you! But tonight isn't about my birthday."

"We know. But it's in two days so we figured we might as well celebrate," Lincoln reasoned.

He stepped aside to let Bellamy enter his room. There were decorations everywhere, with balloons and signs that wished him a happy birthday. Bellamy was amazed that they did all of this without him noticing. He hadn't even known that Raven and her boyfriend were there. "It's great! Really thank you, guys." He turned to Clarke and Lexa. "Did you know about this?"

"Actually, yeah," Clarke replied. "We were supposed to keep you company while they set everything up, but the snow got in the way and we arrived late."

"Yeah, thanks for your help by the way." Raven looked pointedly at both girls.

"Sorry," Lexa apologized, a shy smile on her face. The brunette had gotten closer to everyone, but she still felt a bit new to all of this, the constant teasing and bickering. She was mostly used to aggressive ways that required you to have your walls up at all times. She really liked this new aspect of her life now, and she felt like she had gained everything that counted in the process, amazing friends that felt like family. She was so grateful for what they did to save her, that they had been willing to risk their lives, and she could never thank them enough. She promised herself she would find a way to repay everyone eventually.

As Bellamy was now opening the gift from his friends, Jasper and Monty finally showed up. "Sorry we're late," Monty called from the doorway.

They entered Bellamy's room and Jasper said, disappointed, "Oh no… We missed all the fun."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" Monty said from behind.

"Where were you, guys?" Wick asked the boys.

"Well, we still had to get the alcohol," Monty started, and Lexa smiled, remembering that they always took care of that and that they always were the first to get drunk, "and _someone_ wouldn't keep flirting with the grocery employee."

Jasper cleared his throat uncomfortably as Octavia smirked. "Oh, what's her name?"

"Don't listen to him, I wasn't flirting," Jasper argued.

Monty shook his head. "Sure, you were. Her name is Maya and they wouldn't stop throwing puppy dog eyes at each other and smiling like idiots, it was disgusting," he added with a grimace.

Jasper feigned taking offense before a smile reached his lips. "Did you ask her out?"

Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but Monty beat him to it. "He didn't, he was too scared. But she left her number on the bill."

The taller boy looked at him, irritated. "Could you just please let me tell the story?" Monty raised his hands in the air as if to surrender and Jasper continued, "I wasn't scared. I was just waiting for the right time. But now I'm probably gonna ask her out tomorrow." He smiled.

Lexa thought Monty was right, he looked like an idiot smiling like that. But a happy idiot and she was happy for him.

Lincoln and Jasper high fived before Bellamy returned to unwrapping his gift and everyone's attention turned back to him.

The other guests started to show up about an hour later and the party was a blast. Lexa had become accustomed to the alcohol they always had at the parties and could handle it better. Clarke was standing across the room talking to Raven's boyfriend and Lexa couldn't take her eyes off of her. She noticed the blonde glancing back at her every now and then and she smiled every time she did. Eventually, the brunette approached the blonde from behind and put her arms around her waist. She apologized to Wick for stealing the blonde and said blonde turned around in her arms to face Lexa.

"Hey." Clarke smiled.

"Hey," Lexa returned, her smile growing wider. She briefly wondered if she too, like Jasper, looked like an idiot. She couldn't care less in that moment, though, so she quickly pushed the thought aside.

The brunette pulled away, taking the blonde's hand instead, and tugged on it slightly. "Come on, follow me."

"Where are we going?" Clarke asked, her smile never leaving her beautiful face.

"Somewhere quiet. I need some air," Lexa replied as the blonde raised an eyebrow.

She led her outside of the house, into the backyard and spotted a place where no one would find them. She stopped between two large trees and pushed the blonde against one of them, grabbing her lips in a swift motion, their bodies pressed firmly against one another. She heard the blonde moan between her lips and found herself smiling into the kiss.

She pulled away and glanced at Clarke, a playful smile across her face. "What?" The blonde asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. Lexa didn't reply, instead crouched and made a quick snowball to throw it at Clarke. The blonde squeaked and put her arms in front of her face as a defense, too late. She heard Lexa giggle, and couldn't see the brunette when she dropped her arms, figuring that she'd hid behind one of the trees. Clarke lowered herself to pack a snowball as well. Before she could find Lexa though, she felt two strong arms pushing her down in the snow. She let out another small yelp and when she opened her eyes, she saw Lexa on top of her, grinning and obviously proud of herself. Forgetting about the cold for a moment, the blonde grazed the brunette's sultry lips with her own and whispered, "Promise me you'll never leave me."

The brunette looked at her softly and replied in a soft voice, "I would never. I love you too much for that."

The blonde pulled her in for a soft kiss before the cold gnawed at her again. "Ugh, we're so gonna be sick tomorrow. It's freezing out here and now our clothes are soaked."

"Well then." Lexa's eyes darkened and locked with blue ones. "We better take them off and warm each other up," she finished in a playful tone.

Clarke smirked at her. Maybe winter wasn't so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a bit bittersweet tbh, but I hope you guys will like the next stories I have planned (though it might take a while beacuse school is kicking my ass)  
> gentle reminder that you can find me on tumblr @commanderofcandles  
> so come yell at me in the comment section or on tumblr  
> have a great day/night peeps! Hope to be back soon!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> if you enjoyed, pls check out my [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/sophie31)


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